


The crab and the eel

by CTtrajan



Category: Twisted-Wonderland (Video Game)
Genre: Chapter 3 Spoilers, Floyd and Jade Leech spoilers, Fluff, Hhhhhh, M/M, Self Insert, Self Ship, Self-Indulgent, Strangling, bc its Floyd cmon, happens in the beginning, i am so scared to post this, note that, ok uh, so it isnt yuu or mc, this is a persona by the way
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:01:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 21,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27249988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CTtrajan/pseuds/CTtrajan
Summary: quick note: This is a SELF INSERT that was sorted into Octavinelle. It is NOT MC, this is a sona of mine. There... will be four of them, one of them being an MC sona.When Sumi Kraitan was first sorted into Octavinelle, he had a feeling the dorm leader and the scary Leech twins by his side didn't like him on sight. But then after a chance encounter, one of the twins takes a strange interest in him, leading to an adventure of shenanigans and Jade being a wingman to his oblivious brother.
Relationships: Self insert/canon, Sumi Kraitan/Floyd Leech, self insert/canon - Relationship
Comments: 8
Kudos: 25





	The crab and the eel

**Author's Note:**

> SO! This  
> I'm really posting this huh XD  
> This is the longest story I've ever written so I really hope you like it.  
> Just gonna say there's a few spoilers for chapter 3 in this but ALSO the characterisation may be off since I haven't finished chapter 3 either and I didn't know about how moody he can be whilst writing this. If you know the story of Chapter 3, you might catch hint of a place where I reference to the main story's plot but please note I was bullshitting my way through the timeline of this so it may not match up correctly. Other than that, enjoy~

Sumi’s blackish blue hair swayed as he stepped onto stage, the flayed tips brushing against his shoulders as they framed his face. Tanzanite eyes stared straight ahead, afraid to look around him and see all the pairs of eyes staring at him. His olive toned light brown skin seemed to crawl with nerves, his hands shaking as he clenched them in fists, one gripping the other’s elbow. The sharpness of his teeth was tearing into his mouth, his loose flowing shirt seemed too tight against his chest. Stepping up to look in the mirror, he took in a deep breath and waited to be assigned to his dorm, wondering which it’d be. Though he was listening intently, the tension of the room seemed to black out his senses, the words fizzling out of his ears as they rose to his eardrums. Luckily, he managed to catch the last few, the most important of all.

“You belong to… Octavinelle!”

There was a smatter of applause that surrounded Sumi Kraitan as he watched the mirror glow a blinding white. Crowley, the headmaster, fluffed up his raven cloak with flourish as he gave Sumi a pen, alighted with a white jewel, announcing his official arrival to Night Raven College. A blank look stayed on his face as he watched the crowd of newcomers, all fresh faces just like him. Octavinelle huh? That was to be expected… After all, with the heritage he held, how could he belong to a dorm of the creatures of the land? As he took his uniform and left the stage, the dorm manager stopped him and took his hand cheerfully, shaking it with a firm controlling grip. He had white hair that coiled like tentacles around the side of his face under a fedora wrapped in a lavender grey ribbon and he wore a pristine suit like a businessman. White gloves sleekly covered his pale light skin as he shook his hand.

“Welcome to Octavinelle! I’m the manager, Azul Ashengrotto. Come to me if you need any wishes to be fulfilled.”

That was a strange way to say ‘come to me if you need anything’ but he shrugged it off, not really caring. There were two others at his side, tall and looking down from behind him, wearing matching gloves. Both had turquoise blue hair with a single streak of black on opposite sides of their faces and one golden and one olive eye, both bright against their pale skin. The similarities between their faces seemed like they were twins, though one’s golden eyes were calm and collected and his suit was orderly and neat whereas the other’s smiled with a wild look that matched his messy suit.

“I am Jade Leech, welcome to the dorm.”

The neat twin spoke with a soft friendly touch to his voice. His twin followed suit, his voice lazy and playful.

“Ehhh~? So you’re in our dorm now huh? Floyd Leech, welcome.”

Sumi shook the hand warily.

“S-Sumi Kraitan. Thank you for taking care of me.”

Sumi hurried on, neither of the three seemed to express any form of like to him. Floyd giggled at his speed whilst Azul sighed, perking up with his oh so friendly smile to watch their headmaster announce the next student's dorm.

Sumi frowned as he walked around, a map in hand. The jewel of his magic pen glimmered from where it was tucked into his pocket, his blazer being rather ill fitting as it drooped from his shoulders. He felt like a child, the clothes draped across his small figure. Already smaller than most at his 5’0 height, he felt even more so like one with how tall everyone else seemed. Especially the two Leeches he’d met on the first day. They towered over everyone else, leaning down to fit in some of the doors. It slightly ticked him off but he didn’t have time to ponder on it and just wanted to find his way back to his dorm, having gotten lost in the underwater palace already. Passing Mostro Lounge, he walked through the floor, swerving to evade each moving body as he stuck to the walls. All of his focus was directed on the map he held, trying to make sense of the squiggles and lines it displayed. Obliviously, he strolled unaware of his surroundings and didn’t even notice the person walking in front of him until he bumped straight into him. Feeling fabric smash against his face, he looked up in surprise. It was Floyd. The senior looked down at him, blinking in shock before a sly grin slipped on his face. Sumi tried not to focus on the sharp shark-like teeth his smile showed off.

“Well~ If it isn’t you, the newbie. You’re so short I couldn’t see you.”

Sumi huffed, fidgeting with his sleeve.

“I know that, no need to rub it in. What are you, a moron?”

Floyd’s grin grew wider.

“Eh~? Such a fiesty one~ Like a little crab, but you’re also small and tiny like a guppy. Hmmm~”

He squinted up at the senior, questioning everything. The other smiled back, leaning down to meet him at eye level, catching Sumi by surprise. He stepped back a little from Floyd who snickered.

“Aww no need to be afraid~”

He looked at the paper Sumi was holding and snatched it, straightening to his full height again as he read it.

“Ah~ So you’re a lost little crab hm? Don’t even know the way to your dorm do you, silly Crab-chan~”

Sumi tried to swipe the paper back, furrowing his brows indignantly.

“Hey! Give that back!”

Teasingly, Floyd held it up and out of his reach, enjoying his struggle. In desperation, Sumi kicked out at his legs, aiming to try and make Floyd lose his balance but the other swiftly dodged. Within a second, he lunged at Sumi and grabbed his neck, his demeanour completely changing. His eyes lost that playful look and were coated instead with a cold almost murderous sheen. Halfway through his sentence, his tone dropped its mockery and fell deeply serious.

“Such a silly one aren’t you? Did you really think that’d work, or were you testing how fast I’d squeeze you?”

Sumi didn’t dare say a word, his throat struggling to breathe as he choked under the grip. Floyd stared at him, watching his eyes. They stayed locked in that position, the air being lost from Sumi’s lungs with every second. The paper was forgotten, falling from Floyd’s fingers and to the floor. Ocean blue eyes delved into the golden sun of Floyd’s right eye and the dimmer light of his left. As he hung from the other’s grip, Sumi croaked out a word, half to himself in realisation.

_ “Fuck.” _

“Floyd? What are you doing?”

At the sound of Jade’s voice, Floyd seemed to relax, calming down and letting Sumi drop to the floor. Collapsing with a gasp, Sumi stared up at them as he choked for air, feeling the relief of wind rushing into his body. 

“Did Kraitan-san do something? Why were you squeezing him?”

Floyd glanced down at Sumi, surveying him. He weakly looked back up at the senior, feeling something mischievous flash in his eyes as he replied.

“No no, Crab-chan was just being a little stupid. I was about to see him to his dorm because he got lost~”

Eyes widening, Sumi coughed and quickly grabbed his map from the floor again.

“Uh uh that's really not necessary-”

“Now I know any sensible fish wouldn’t turn down my offer to help, would he~?”

Floyd didn’t even hide the bloodthirst in his eyes as he glared at Sumi. His brother chuckled, seemingly unaffected. Either he was oblivious or he was in on something Sumi was afraid to know.

“I see. I had thought something had happened but I suppose you’ll take care of it. Have fun Floyd.”

With a flick of flourish, he waved the two goodbye and then returned to his station by Azul’s side.

Sumi looked up at Floyd, his eyes fearful but curious. The senior grinned down at him, winking as he held out a hand. He had half a mind to ignore the hand and just run away but honestly the massive bulk of Floyd's height, which seemed over a foot taller than Sumi, would be terrifying to run away from. Tentatively, he took the hand and was practically yanked to his feet, his papers threatening to fall again from the jerking motion.

“Come come Crab-chan~ I’ll show you to your room but!”

Floyd winked once more, holding up Sumi’s hand in his own.

“You’ll have to pay me back for this favour.”

Certain any other answer would lead to literal death, Sumi nodded.

“Uhh. Ok.”

Smiling brightly, he clapped his hands.

“Great! Nice answer, now follow me~”

Looking at the back of the taller student while they walked, Sumi stared curiously at him. He had wondered why the other would offer to take him back to his room, it was probably better not to question it but he did anyway. Not out loud though, he didn’t want to invoke anymore murderous instances. The favour thing seemed odd but a suitable explanation at least. He shuddered to think what it could entail, not trusting the senior to be nice about it. Still, he kept to his word at least and led him back to his room, the familiar hallway jogging Sumi’s memory as they walked. Or at least, he hoped it was his hallway. God he hated his terrible memory. Floyd looked back at the smaller student, noticing the way he was skittishly looking all around him as he clutched his pen in his pocket. With a snicker, he said loudly so that the other could hear him.

“Are you afraid I’ll lead you astray Crab-chan~? Don’t worry, a deal’s a deal. Just make sure you fulfill your end of it when the time comes.”

“Speaking of that… what are you going to have me do?”

Flody grinned, holding a finger to his lips and winking as he looked back at him.

“It’s a secret~ You’ll find out when you need to.”

Sumi was Not looking forward to that but he shrugged all the same, snickering a little himself.

“Eh that’s fair enough then. Just as long as it isn’t something cooking since I am  _ shit _ at that.”

Floyd blinked and smiled.

“That’s alright Crab-chan, I’m not that kind.”

Oh god what was the favour going to mean?

  
  


Sumi collapsed into his bed once Floyd had left staring at the empty space of his roommate. He couldn’t stop thinking of Floyd. At all. Gingerly touching his neck, he shivered as he felt his fingers trace the place where Floyd’s hand had gripped him.  _ Fuck with an extra k. _ At least, he thought to himself in consolation, he would probably never see him again. Not until after the favour but he doubted Floyd would want anything to do with him afterwards. Other than probably bully and tease him but that wasn’t very new so that’d be fine. The last thought he had before he fell asleep was of a golden sun melting into a dimmer olive orb…

As Sumi woke up for breakfast, he was greeted by the grinning face of Floyd leaning against his door.

“Come Crab-chan~ I have my favour for you.”   
He yawned, sleep dripping from his eyes as he swiped at his eyelashes, trying to feel less drowsy. Time to get it over with…   
“Fine… What do you need me to do?”

With a snap of his fingers, the senior winked and began to walk.

“Oh you motherfucker.”

“Watch your tongue Crab-chan~”

Floyd reached down and squished Sumi’s cheeks roughly, grinning at his annoyance.   
“You might eat a fly if you talk too much. Now go on, pick all those apples for my breakfast today.”

Sumi growled, scrunching his nose and narrowing his eyes at him.

“Such a cute face you have when you’re angry~”

He ignored him, glancing up at the tree. Its bark was bare of any branches until further up, higher than Floyd’s head, where lush green leaves flourished like a bush and a bushel of apples grew.   
“What’s wrong Crab-chan~? Is it too high~?”

Floyd laughed, reaching up to pick a leaf and dangle it in front of Sumi’s eyes, snickering as he swiped at the hand with a scowl. Sighing, he cracked his neck and rolled his arms in wide circles, the bones loudly clicking.

“Just watch dude, this thing ain’t no match for me.”

“Oh~? Well show me then.”

  
  


Floyd watched in interest as Sumi seemed to judge its height before stepping a while back. Counting his steps, he half glared forwards and then ran towards the tree, his feet gaining up the bark and taking two steps before he flew off the bark. However, he wasn't done yet as he kicked out a foot and planted it on Floyd’s shoulder, springing off it in less than a second as the other’s expression switched in shock. By the time Floyd looked upwards, Sumi was sitting on a branch, holding an apple with a grin. He winked and bit into the apple.

“See? Not just a little crab, am I?”

Floyd blinked, surprise having stolen his words momentarily. He stared up at his junior, assessing the grin that mirrored his own.  _ This one seems like a lot of fun~ _ Though startled, his smile swiftly slipped back on and he leaned against the tree nonchalantly, his hand held open

“Ehh~? So you have a few little tricks up your sleeve, huh? But where is my breakfast hmm?”

“Here you go.”

Sumi threw the apple he’d been eating at his hand, raising an eyebrow as Floyd caught it. Seemingly bored, the senior examined the apple and then looked back at him, a sly look in his eye as he saw Sumi watching, a triumphant smirk on his face. And then he bit into it. 

Sumi nearly fell out of the tree, gasping out a cry.

“What the  _ fuck  _ dude?”   
Floyd laughed at his surprise and then threw the apple away, holding his hand up expectantly, a knowing glint in his iris as he snuck a smirk to Sumi. The other grumbled and then sighed, actually picking the apples from the tree and throwing them down to Floyd. When he was finally done, he hopped down, wincing as his ankle twisted a little at the landing.   
“Fuck.”

Floyd peered over his shoulder, curiously. Or...concerned. Who knew at this point.

“Hmm? Did you hurt your little leg Crab-chan? That tree is really tall and you’re so tiny and weak~”

Sumi sighed, shrugging and shaking his head.

“Nah nah, it’s fine. Anyway, I got your apples.”

Confused, the senior blinked and looked back at the pile of apples before turning around and shrugging.

“Eh, I’m not in the mood for apples. Make me pancakes Crab-chan~!”

He glared at him and huffed, groaning as he got to his feet.

“Mother _ fucker _ \- I can’t cook and anyway this is too much. All you did was take me to my dorm, I’ve done your favour. Now leave me alone.”

Staggering as he walked, he ignored the stabbing pain in his foot as he began to walk away from the hill.

“Ehh~ Crab-chan~! Are you sure you’re going to leave me? You can barely walk though.” 

“Shut up, I’m fine.”

Just as Sumi turned to flip the bird at him, his ankle gave way and he stumbled backwards, about to fall down the hill. Fortunately, Floyd caught him just in time, sliding his hand behind his back and slipping the other under his knees. Before Sumi knew it, he was up in Floyd’s arms, being carried by the other casually. Paralysed, he lay stock still in the other’s hold, as if a statue in shock.    
“Hey.  _ Hey _ . Put me down. Bad dog. Stop it.”

By the time his own words processed in his head, he was glad Floyd was ignoring him, the other humming cheerily as he walked.

“Heyy~ Crab-chan~ You owe me again now I’m doing this for you. I don’t just do this for everyone~”

“Dude I didn’t ask you to do this, don’t pull that bullshit on me.”

Sumi huffed, scowling again. Due to their massive height difference, he fit almost perfectly in Floyd’s arms, held securely and tightly by his hands. They felt gentle somehow, as if Floyd was trying not to hurt him any more than he already was. The earring of three light blue diamonds dangled from Floyd’s ear, catching his attention. Sumi stared up at the earrings, his gaze travelling to the dark strand that swayed to the side and the blueish colour of Floyd’s hair. And then to his eyes, the bright shine of the yellow contrasting the cooler olive of the other. He half wanted to reach up and cup the other’s face.  _ Wait what- oh. Fuck. _ After a heartbeat, he curled in on himself, staring at his hands as he quietly admitted.

“But… thanks.”

Floyd’s grin grew wider and he carried Sumi all the way back to the dorm. Luckily it was still breakfast time and as everyone was eating, no one saw them. Setting Sumi down on the bed, he grinned and winked before shutting the door.

“Don’t forget you owe me again Crab-chan~ I’ll see you later when I need you again~”

“Just leave, I swear to god.”

Sumi heard his laughter echoing as he disappeared.  _ Fucking bastard couldn’t have even put me in the nurse’s office… _

  
  


“Ah, Floyd. Where were you?”

Azul’s shoes clicked to a stop as he noticed Floyd enter the room, his eyes switching their focus from his client to him. Sniggering, Floyd winked.

“Just playing with a really cute crab~”

Azul rolled his eyes and continued his deal.

“Fine but don’t take so long next time.”

Floyd snickered and nodded, taking his station behind the dorm manager.

“Fine fine~”

Jade looked over at his brother, surious.

“Is this the same crab you were playing with earlier?”

Floyd nodded, starting to hum to himself again and grow dazed.

“I see. So you’ve taken a liking to Sumi Kraitan hmm?”

He shrugged, beginning to shift in his stance.

“I guess so, he’s just really cute when he’s mad~”

Jade nodded thoughtfully.

"I see. Maybe I should try and see this allegedly cute face."

Floyd paused, thinking it over before shaking his head.

"Nah, he's my toy for now. Wait your turn."

He raised an eyebrow at his brother's response.

"My my~ Not willing to share this time are you? Well, I understand."

"Good~"

Jade watched him from the side, smirking a little to himself as he decided to watch and see where this went.

Sumi sighed as he got ready for the day. There wasn't any school as it was the weekend so he planned to just find somewhere quiet to relax. Fitting on the Octavinelle clothes, he smiled at his reflection. The lilac shirt and grey bowtie were tucked neatly under his blazer. Still a tad too big for him but he never minded, clothes too big for him were better than too small. But the best thing of all, was his fedora. He was wearing his own, rather than the standard black with a light grey ribbon and seashell within a bow. His one was dark purple and had a black ribbon, folding into a skull and feather. He'd sewn them on himself, and treasured the decorations, as well as the hat, a lot. Though, he had gotten a lot of comments on how alike it was to Sammy's aesthetic. It wasn't very in tune to the ocean theme his dorm belonged to but it was his and that was all that mattered. Sumi fidgeted, adjusting the hat's position and then beamed, his hands on his hips. Before leaving, he glanced at his roommate's bed once more. They never seemed to be around, always going somewhere and hanging out with friends. Sumi didn't mind the quiet compared to his old rambunctious home but it did often make him wonder what they were doing. 

Still, it was their business so he shrugged it off. Sumi walked out of the dorm, strolling through the halls to the lounge. Ever since that first encounter, he always made sure to count landmarks and never get lost within the dorms again. He didn't know what he'd do at the lounge, probably get a drink, but it would do well to see who was already there. As he entered, he immediately saw Floyd watching over the lounge next to his brother. It was hard to miss the two of them, with how tall and striking they were, but Floyd's face seemed to be burned into his mind at this point. Warily, Sumi stood still for a moment, as if assessing if he could see him, before slowly scurrying inside. With a shrug, he headed to the bar, for a non alcoholic drink. After all, it's not like he'd bother talking with the 1st year. His brother was by his side so surely, Sumi was too boring to harass? He ordered his lemonade and then sat down to drink, studying the others in the room. It seemed all the ones who normally took up the quiet spaces were here. He smiled. This was perfect. They were all talking excitedly in a huddle amongst themselves. Peace could finally flower a field around Sumi at last, filling his thoughts with quiet as he sipped his lemonade.

"Heyyyy~ Crab-chan~"

Sumi ignored it, figuring the nickname must be for another as well. He'd seen him call a Heartslabyul student the same thing.

"Crab-chan~~"

Please be someone else. Please be someone else. Please don't ruin this.

"Crab-chan~ heyyy~ don't ignore me!"

He sighed. Guess not everything could be good that day. 

Turning around to look at him, Sumi draped his arms over the back of the couch, boredly staring up at Floyd's grin from across the room.

"Whaaat~?"

He tipped his glass up, draining the last drops of drink, and stared at the senior through the end of the cylindrical glass. Floyd’s face was distorted through the glass. And steadily getting closer. Sumi gulped quietly, surprised to see him approaching, having thought he’d just yell across the room. He stopped just in front of Sumi, looming down over him with a leering grin. Sumi stared straight back.

“Ehh~? I’ve never seen a hat like this.”

Sumi watched him silently, glaring as he traced the feather’s plume with a finger.

“Did you make it yourself Crab-chan~? It’s cute.”

Bristling, his eyes narrowed under the hat and he instinctively jolted to grip the brim of the hat. Too late. Floyd’s fingers were faster and the hat was soon within his hands.    
“Ahh~ Crab-chan~ This is so light and wellmade.”

He snickered as he studied the hat, delighting in Sumi’s annoyed face. The other half growled, setting the glass down on the nearest table.

“Give it back!”

Floyd looked at him and then at the hat and then back at him. He winked.

“No~”

Quick to his feet, Sumi stood up on the sofa and leapt at him, aiming to snatch the hat back.

“I said give it  _ back _ .”

Floyd dodged swiftly, twirling around and dangling the hat from his fingers. He laughed hysterically.

“Aww what’s wrong Crab-chan?”

Sumi growled again and lunged to grab the hat, missing by just a few centimetres. Floyd snickered, using his height against him and holding it higher and higher as he teased him. Murmurs and whispers turned with eyes as a spotlight was cast on them. Sumi didn’t bother caring however, and was only focused on the hat.

“Oh is this too high for you Crab-chan~? Maybe you should get a step ladder~”

Narrowing his eyes, he huffed at Floyd and then leapt at it again, this time aiming for the edge of the sofa rather than the hat. Rebounding off the leather, he kicked out a foot and jumped to reach the hat. Floyd raised an eyebrow, unable to move as Sumi crashed into him instead, toppling the both of them. 

“Oh  _ fuck. _ Sorry.”

Wincing as he looked down at Floyd’s face, Sumi scratched the back of his neck and gently prised the hat from his senior’s fingers. The other merely stared. There was a quiet stillness in the entire lounge as everyone watched. Sumi felt the piercing gaze of those golden and olive eyes, but they didn’t seem cold or bloodthirsty...yet. Floyd watched as the other’s dark blue eyes darted around nervously, shimmering flecks of white and turquoise swimming in his irises like fish in the ocean. A couple heartbeats passed and then he started laughing, loudly. Sumi faintly blushed from where he sat on top of Floyd’s stomach in surprise and quickly snapped out of his trance. After slipping the fedora back onto his head, he sheepishly got up and held out a hand.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean for that to happen.”

Floyd took the hand, amused. His eyes widened as Sumi yanked him upwards, calling forth some unknown strength you could never tell was there from his scrawny muscles and limbs. Still chuckling, he shrugged.

“You’re a fun one Crab-chan~”

Sumi gripped the back of his elbow, not meeting his eyes.

“Yeah...anyway I’ll just. Go now- actually wait, did you need something when you were calling me earlier?”

Floyd waved his hand dismissively, glancing at the crowd gathered around them as everyone wondered who could knock down Floyd Leech and get away with it.

“Nothing nothing~ Why, that eager to do something for me Crab-chan~?”

Sumi snorted and shook his head with a laugh.

“Nah, I just didn’t want to ignore someone who called my name.”

“Oh? But you ignored me twice at first.”

“Crab-chan isn’t my name though.”

Floyd smirked, about to reply when a sharp voice sliced through the air.

“ _ What _ is causing such a commotion?”

Into everyone’s gaze entered Azul, his mouth in a grim line as he clicked his shoes over to the crowd, most of the dorm students dispersing immediately. Jade was right by his side, behind his shoulder. Floyd waved to his brother, who smiled and waved back. Azul sighed and tsked.

“Floyd? Really? Didn’t I ask you to prevent such things rather than cause them? You may strangle all the students you want but they must go out of line first.”

He turned his gaze onto Sumi, who was still looking at the floor.

“And you… Sumi Kraitan hm? You know the rules, you ought to follow them.”

Floyd interjected, winking at Sumi.   
“Heyy~ Azul~ I already handled it, he’s fine. Remember what I told you Crab-chan.”

He nodded and quickly scurried away, searching for a quiet place to hide and read his book and ignore the entire morning. Carefully, Azul watched him run away and then shifted his arms, folding them together as he eyed Floyd getting up. Patting his trousers free of dust, he winked and plucked his hat off the floor, planting it on his head.

“Aww~ And just when the tension was getting high.”

“Floyd, does he interest you as a client?”

“Hmmm~?”

Floyd tilted his head at Azul’s question, thinking about his answer.

“Nah, I don’t think so.”

“Then why do you concern yourself with the young 1st year?”

Floyd shrugged, half skipping to his station at his brother’s side.

“Ehh. Crab-chan’s fun to tease. And full of surprises it seems.”

He giggled whilst the Azul sighed and rolled his eyes, dropping the matter. Jade watched his brother’s eyes and saw how they lingered on the door that Sumi had left from. Smirking to himself, he let out a little laugh, small enough that no one noticed, as he began to wonder what would become of their frequent encounters.

  
  


Another day, another mountain of schoolwork to complete. Sumi sighed drearily at his seat, the corner of the floor next to a window in a more desolate wing of the dorms. The ledge jutted out and ran along the length of the window like a sill. It wasn’t too big but then again, neither was he. It fit him just right, curled up with his book as the view of the wall wide window swirled as currents of water flowed through it, whirling around objects and fish every which way. It reminded him of his home, he touched the glass with a palm, feeling its coolness slide gracefully underneath his skin and how the scales he could nearly feel on his hand fell away to leave nothing but bare skin. It was strange to be a human. His blue and black scales that shimmered in the light was a misty allure were no longer there, replaced by a more dreary light brown that seemed tinted yellow. Nothing he minded though, it often befuddled him when he gazed at his palms, the circuits of veins and arteries that glowed blue and purple. Other times, such as now, it mystified him. He traced the rivers lightly with a finger, following the stream all the way down to his elbow. Turning it over, his gaze searched for other passages, other faint markings of the tubes running all throughout the body. Book forgotten, the window and his surroundings fell away in shimmering diamonds as he focused solely on his hand, mesmerised in how beautiful a hand without scales could look. 

And then new fingers intertwined with his own.

Snapping out of his daze, Sumi looked around to see Floyd kneeling next to him, his hand curled around Sumi’s. His gaze wasn’t focused on him, staring at the hands held together. The white glove he wore bore a sharp contrast to the slightly darker and more coloured hand of Sumi’s. The senior’s was also larger, the fingers wrapping neatly around nearly the entire hand.

“...”

Sumi watched him, half curiously half dubiously, unsure of his intent here. Carefully, he let go of Floyd’s hand and furled it into a fist, laying it onto his lap.

“Uhh can I help you?”

Floyd didn’t answer at first, before grinning at him.

“I wonder~ What were you thinking Crab-chan?”

It was likely that he should’ve controlled this urge but he couldn’t help it. Chortling a little, Sumi poked Floyd’s forehead.

“What about  _ you?  _ What the hell were  _ you _ thinking? Why’d you grab my hand?”

He stared at him, looking up - as being on his knees while Sumi was sitting on the sill reversed their heights for once. Shrugging, he laughed and winked.

“Who knows~ Does it really matter Crab-chan?”

“Yes, you interrupted my intimate session of staring at my hand.”

Sumi joked with a laugh as he rolled his eyes at Floyd, starting to get used to him being so aloof. As he opened up his book again, he casually asked.

“So?”

Floyd blinked, confused.

“So what?”

“So what do you need me for? You couldn’t have looked for me without needing something.”

Smirking, Floyd poked his cheek, something Sumi ignored in favour of continuing to read as he listened.

“Ehh~? You think I was looking for you Crab-chan? I just happened to walk here and saw you.”

Sumi rolled his eyes again, not believing him one bit.

“Just spill it dude.”

Tapping his chin, Floyd smiled slyly.

“Well~ If you insist, I do have something I could have you do as you second favour for me~”

“If it has to do with apples, senior or not, I  _ will _ kick you.”

Floyd laughed.

“You can certainly try Crab-chan! But I wanted you to take over my shift as bartender for the Mostro Lounge. Though I doubt they have a uniform as small as you, so you’ll probably end up just looking really cute.”

Giggling at the thought, he didn’t notice Sumi shut the book, stunned. 

When his eyes opened again, he saw the junior staring at his hands silently whilst they shook, trembling. Eyes widening, they seemed to fill with stars as he looked at Floyd, grabbing onto his shoulders. His grin halted for a second in shock as Sumi eagerly bounced in his seat, beaming widely.

“A bartender?? So I get to wear one of their suits?? Yes yes yes!!”

Flapping his hands in excitement, he rocked back and forth happily as Floyd watched, dazed as if lost in the ecstatic look on Sumi’s face. It took him a moment to snap out of it and curiously smirk.

“Aww come on, it isn’t as fun when you’re so willing.”

“Fuck you, I am  _ doing _ this. When’s your shift?”

Floyd began to smile a little as Sumi shifted to fully face him, his hat nearly slipping from his head. 

“In a couple hours~ I’ll train you to be the bartender in the meanwhile, we can’t have you fucking up the shift or I’ll have to squeeze you~”

Sumi gulped a little, toning down the stims before nodding eagerly.

“Ok!!! Where do I go and what do I gotta do?”

Floyd jerked in a direction with his head and stood up, beginning to walk as Sumi scrambled to follow him, clutching his book to his chest as he hummed. 

Straining songs wafted faintly as they walked, since Sumi couldn’t take a step without humming to some strange tune. After a short while of this, with Floyd eyeing him curiously the entire time, he joined in, matching the strange pitches and rhythm of the song. It was catchy after all, and the way Sumi began bouncing in his step when they hummed together was adorable. He didn’t normally have this much fun with someone other than his brother. He didn’t question it, not caring enough. At the lounge, he stole a uniform from a rack and handed it to Sumi, waiting outside as he changed at Sumi’s insistence. He didn’t see what the fuss over it was but Sumi did seem excited to try it on, practically jumping like a garden eel as it pops in and out of its hole. It didn’t take too long for him to change though, the sound of the curtains swishing to the side alerting Floyd to look up. Sumi fidgeted with his cuffs, adjusting his hat as he smiled.

“How do I look? Presentable enough for the customers?”

He wore a white shirt under a lilac tuxedo topped with a black tie. Atop his head was another fedora, a faint purplish black with a greyish white ribbon that had a bow on the side. He wore black suspenders clipped onto his trousers which looped over his shoulders. Smiling down as he surveyed his own outfit, a mirthful glimmer in his gaze caught Floyd’s eye. Whispering under his breath, he smiled.

“More than presentable.”

Sumi looked up, walking over curiously.

“Huh? I didn’t hear that.”

Floyd snickered, standing up to lift Sumi’s chin with a grin.

“Ehhh~? Crab-chan you sure clean up nice don’t you? I didn’t think you could look so handsome.”

He snorted in response, holding a finger to Floyd’s chin.

“You sure don’t look too bad yourself with that charming smile of yours.”

Nonchalantly, he moved on, looking at the bar and walking towards it,

“Anyway, what do I need to know first? It’d be….”

The words fell away, shattering like crystals as his previous words echoed in Floyd’s head.

“Charming smile”... Hm. Most called his smile creepy. It was rare someone called him charming. That very smile slipped across his mouth as he decided he liked being called that, and followed Sumi.

Once the shift started, Sumi began working and seemed almost a natural at it. He never touched the alcoholic orders but excelled in speed at learning the other drinks. He was way too enthusiastic about shaking the canisters though and still made quite a few mistakes, most of his drinks weren't really the best but he was quick at them. Though Floyd was accompanying Azul most of the time, he spared many a glance towards the bar when Sumi was in view. Snickering every so often when he saw him make a mistake, he wasn’t very good at hiding his deeds. Azul grew irritated, snapping.

“Floyd, focus please.”

He nodded in response, humming softly to himself the tune Sumi had sung whilst they were walking. What could he say? It was catchy. Jade nudged his elbow, curious.

“Aren’t you meant to be working the bar Floyd?”

He shook his head, never out of rhythm   
“Nah, I got someone to take over for me so I’d have less work. It’s always such a bore there...”

“Oh? But you keep looking over at it.”

Jade raised an eyebrow as Floyd processed the words and chuckled.

“Yeah but that’s because it’s interesting now!”

His brother looked over at the bar, spying Sumi handing a drink over to a customer, Jade smiled.

“Ah, Kraitan-san hm? You’ve been spending a lot of time with that one.”

Floyd shook his head again.

“Nah~ Crab-chan just owed me a couple favours.”

He hummed a little more, smiling giddily to himself. Thoughtfully, the other smirked and asked.

“Well, if you had the chance. Would you rather stay here with me or go stay with Sumi?”

Floyd blinked, pausing suddenly, before answering.

"You of course~ I have the best fun with you Jade."

Jade chuckled, nodded as he noted the pause that had never been there before.

"I see. Very well then."

After the shift ended and the Lounge closed for the day, Floyd walked past the bar to find Sumi collapsed on the counter. His fedora still lay on his head, which rested atop his folded arms. Breathing softly, he seemed asleep. Snickering, Floyd stole the hat to put on his own head but Sumi instantly grabbed his hand, not opening his eyes nor moving his head. Grumbling, he groaned.

"Ugh, guys stop it. Shut up about the stupid hat, I'm tired."

Floyd grinned wickedly and leaned down to whisper into his ear.

"Ehhh~ was one day too much for you Crab-chan?"

He jolted, snapping his eyes open in surprise. Glancing up at Floyd, he seemed startled for a moment before smiling, easing the hat out of his fingers  _ again _ before plopping it back to his own head.

"Well well well mister Leech, so you've returned just as I finished. Would you like a drink? Ah, sorry. We're closed."

He snickered and straightened up, cracking his back. Floyd laughed with him, leaning on the counter this time.

"Hm? You can't spare a drink, just for me?"

Sumi snorted and shrugged, looking at a clock and then at the drinks.

"Hmm I guess an exception could be made. After all, it's thanks to you I get to wear this suit, even if only for a day, it really  _ suits _ me ha ha."

"Keep it."

Blankly, Sumi blinked.

"What?"

"You aren't deaf, I said keep it. It looks good on you, like a decorator crab."

Slamming his hands on the counter, Sumi excitedly leaned forward, his face centimetres from Floyd's. His smile burst wide as Floyd's faltered from the sudden movement.

"You mean it?? Really? They won't mind?"

The senior waved his hand dismissively.

"I don't think so~ Not when  _ I _ say you can keep it. Also don't say mister Leech, Floyd is fine."

Sumi started to flap his hands happily, the bones clicking as he whirred them in fast flaps.

"Eh? What're you doing? You did this before too."

"Stimming. I'm really happy. Thank youuuu."

Sumi said with a smile, not offering a single explanation.

"What-"

"What drink would you like, I don't care if it's against the rules or not anymore as long as it's non alcoholic."

Floyd thought for a moment before replying.

"A milkshake then."

"Oh? Don't you like more savoury things like takoyaki?"

He raised an eyebrow at the senior, who grinned. 

"Today was so boring. I want something sweet~"

"Then, what about me?"

Sumi winked before laughing wildly.

"I kid I kid, coming right up!"

It was lucky he turned around, with Floyd watching him make the drink. Otherwise someone would've noticed the faint blush on his cheeks, barely visible but with how close Sumi had been, he would've noticed it on Floyd's face.

  
  


It had been a while since that day, the summer approaching fast. Sumi frequented the Mostro Lounge often, wearing the bartender uniform casually. Quite often, he would be relaxing on the couches with a drink and a book and someone would mistake him for being on shift. It wasn't like he worked there formally but no one seemed to mind when he snuck behind the counter to make the drink orders anyway. Soon enough, the workers recognised him easily and let him do it freely. As the sociable talker he was, he made friends with quite a few of them, chatting smoothly as he "worked". A couple of the workers suggested he apply to work actual shifts all the time, and though he normally declined the idea, it did stick in his mind often. Sometimes he saw Floyd in the lounge, always with his brother and Azul. He never made a move to talk to him though, so Sumi never did either. He would've figured that Floyd was just finished with his fun but whenever Sumi stuck around after the bar closed, he normally showed up and asked for a drink. Sometimes sweet, sometimes caffeine, sometimes of other flavours. He mainly ordered milkshakes after it became evident that Sumi was terrible at making anything else. Once Floyd asked for a takoyaki but was quickly shut down when Sumi reminded him that he couldn't cook.

Sumi sat curled up with a book on the couch, unnoticed by the others who had already turned off the lights. Deep blue and purple waves of light filtered into the darkness of the room from the windows, alighting a glowing ghostly aura onto the interior. His book's words lit up under his fingers and marine glimmered across his hands like shimmering scales. Iridescent spots of moonlight speckled his arms as he wistfully flickered his focus from the pages to the light. Shifting sounds of someone's footsteps alerted him as someone stepped to a stop behind his head and covered his eyes. Before he even spoke, Sumi looked up, eyes closed under the gloved hands and laughed.

"I see you, Leech-san."

Floyd uncovered his eyes and peered down at him, a matching grin on his face.

"Ohh~? You see me Crab-chan? I didn't know crabs could see without their eyes."

He made a motion as if reaching down for Sumi's eyes, which opened just in time to see the cold look on his own.

"Could you see me if I plucked them out~?"

As if picking grapes, his fingers curled as if plucking the eyes out of their sockets. Unperturbed, Sumi laughed, his eyes closing once again. He lay the flat back of his hands over his eyelids and opened up his fingers, like curtains opening to a stage as they fell from the sides of his eyes.

"No, I need my eyes. I like being able to see you." 

The lights flecked his irises as he opened them again, gazing at Floyd. 

And see him, he did. Floyd wasn't wearing his hat this time, showing off the full glory of his turquoise hair, blurring green in the fluctuating hues of the lights. The darker strand fell from his face and hung down like a dark vine. His eyes were wide open, the thirst for blood slowly fading from them as they stared into each other. His right eye's golden colour seemed greener and tinged with blue whilst his olive left shimmered as brightly as his hair. Colours glittered within his eyes, darting like sparkling sardines in a school. The bow he left loose around his neck draped downwards, swaying slightly with his breath. He didn't seem to be wearing anything different, but all the folds seemed a touch looser than normal. As Sumi stared up at him, Floyd stared back. Sumi's own hat lay in his lap, the feather coiling around his arm, stark black against his bare skin. Though he still wore the bartender uniform, the sleeves were rolled up to his elbows and his arms were unclothed. Deep blue melded into black hair, framing his face in straight side bangs. Green and purple dancing in and out of his hair and within his eyes, the sapphire sea of colour filled with misted flecks of shine. So lost was he, Floyd didn't even realise Sumi's hand slowly reached up until his fingers lightly patted his cheek and he smiled.

"So, what would you like today?"

"I'm thinking of applying for this job permanently you know."

Sumi kept his face still and turned away from as he spoke, trying to will away the faint rose blush on his face. Floyd was toying with his fedora, springing the feather up and down in his hands. Or pretending to anyway, to hide the light blush dusting his cheeks. The golden light of the bar bathed them both in yellow, reflecting off of the shiny counter.

"Oh? Don't you like having free time?"

"Well… I end up doing this stuff anyway even in my free time," Sumi laughed as he shook the whipped cream bottle, "I guess it'd just be nice to do the same things but get paid for it this time. Even if it does restrict my free hours."

Floyd pouted a little, flopping on the counter.

"Work seems so boring~ I wouldn't be allowed to have fun if I did it."

"Well it's lucky that it's  _ me _ doing it then, isn't it, Leech-san?"

Smiling brightly, Sumi flicked his forehead and set the drink down in front of him. The other straightened a little, sitting up properly as he began to drink.

"Why do you call me that."

"What?"

He stared at Sumi as he set up a glass of lemonade for himself, slowly pouring it into a long glass. 

"Leech-san. Aww Crab-chan, don't you think we're close enough for a nickname? It sounds like you could be talking to Jade~"

Sumi shrugged, leaving from behind the counter to sit next to Floyd as he drank.

"Eh. Not really. We don't talk about very personal stuff do we? Like you haven't even asked about my day or anything."

"..."

Floyd stared at him blankly. Sumi stared back and then sighed.

"...How was your day?"

"It was good. I had fun and got to squeeze a few misbehaving fish."

"..."

Sumi waited.

"...You're meant to ask how my day was back."

Floyd blinked.

"How was your day Crab-chan?"

Sumi shrugged.

"So so. Better now I've seen you again."

As the flirt was lost on the senior, he sighed. Floyd finished sipping his drink, rocking his legs back and forth before suddenly groaning.

"This sounds so boringgg!"

Sumi started laughing at his antics, snickering.

"Ok ok, what  _ do _ you want me to call you? Leech-kun?"

"No."

"Leech-senpai?"

"No that could be Jade."

"Ok how about Oarfish-san."

That got a laugh out of him as he folded his arms and rested his head on them, leaning onto the counter. Sumi looked down at him, awaiting an answer as he sipped his lemonade.

"Floyd."

"Hmm?"

A touch surprised, Sumi raised his eyebrows as Floyd stared straight into his eyes.

"Just call me Floyd."

"I… ok? Floyd. Huh."

Blinking, Sumi let it settle, drinking the last drops of his glass before smiling.

"Floyd. Alright. Then could you use my goddamn name too and just call me Sumi already?"

Floyd laughed and shrugged, seemingly ignoring him, to Sumi's annoyance.

"Heyyyy don't ignore me! Use my real name! Just this once!"

"Whyyyy? Your nickname's fine enough as it is!"

"Do it or I'm calling you Oarfish-san!"

"That doesn't sound so baaad~"

"Gah!"

Sumi groaned, flinging his head in his hands in mock annoyance. He didn't really care all that much but he did want to be addressed by his real name.  _ Guess it can't be helped, _ he thought to himself,  _ I doubt Floyd cares much anyway. _

"Hmmm… won't you look at me now~?"

Floyd grinned as he nudged him.

"Sumi~?"

The words processed and Sumi turned almost instantly, blinking furiously.

"...Who are you and where is Floyd?"

He laughed hysterically at the junior's shock and shrugged again, sleazily smirking.

"Ehhh. Crab-chan's better. I think I'll stick to that~"

"Pffft. And here I thought we had some progress."

Getting up, Sumi took both of the glasses and went behind the counter once more, washing the glasses in the sink.

"I think I'll go to bed now. After I clean up anyway. I'd like my hat back please."

Floyd sniggered and followed him behind the counter, setting the fedora atop Sumi's hair and then patting his head.

"You're so small and cute Crab-chan~"

"And you're so tall and cute. Now shoo, it's time for bed."

Laughing, he waved off Floyd's hand and dried his hands, turning off all the lights. They were left as two silhouettes, flecks of their faces illuminated by the shifting blue and purple light. As Sumi left for his dorm, he waved goodbye.

"G'night Floyd~"

Floyd waved back, answering back almost exactly when Sumi was out of earshot.

"Good night~ ...Sumi."

He chuckled as he left for his own dorm.

"Oyasumi Sumi."

  
  


Even after that day, they didn't talk too often but Sumi waved to Floyd every now and then. Sometimes Floyd would catch his eye while he helped out Azul and they'd wink and wave at each other. Sumi watched him, quite often. It was more distracting than reading at times, he noticed little things about him. Like how he was always swaying to each side as he stood behind Azul, rocking back and forth. It was adorable. And how he'd get super excited like a puppy at times but physically deflate if he was shut down. Sumi couldn't help chuckling to himself at those times, finding the actions cute. Once, however, he spotted Floyd in the halls of the school, standing next to his brother as they watched what seemed to be four first years, though Sumi couldn't make them out. He nearly ignored it, thinking it was the wrong person, before remembering that there was literally no one else both as tall and with such a bright hair colour. Sighing, he snickered to himself and cupped his hands over his mouth.

Floyd was keeping tabs on the first years with his brother, doing Azul's bidding and preparing to hinder their progress with the contract. Just as he was about to yawn from boredom, he heard someone shout across the hallway.

"FLOYYYD!"

Whipping around, he scanned the crowd for the owner of the voice, squinting as he couldn't recognise any of the faces immediately. That sounded like Sumi's voice though…? He was about to shrug it off when he heard Jade chuckle next to him.

"Ehh~? What's so funny?"

Jade shook his head, a knowing smile on his face.

"Nothing nothing. We'll see if we have to know."

"Ok."

Instantly trusting his brother's words, he turned his focus back to what they were doing, a thoughtful look on his face. Strangely, it happened again later, whilst he was going to his Animal Language lesson and again throughout the day. Each time, he couldn't find Sumi again afterwards, certain he'd heard his voice but never able to find his face. Jade seemed to be greatly amused the whole time. 

"I think you have a little admirer Floyd."

"Ehhh~?"

Surprised, Floyd tilted his head at his brother. Jade chuckled once more and kept dutifully writing down his history notes.

"Who else could be calling your name all the time?"

"Crab-chan. But I don't think he'd be an admirer of me."

Floyd answered firmly, not even catching a hint as to what Jade was saying. Heavily sighing, Jade smirked.

"Kraitan-san strikes again hm? Anyway, I know who it is. If you go to the warehouse where we keep the brooms, you'll find them there."

Floyd blinked.

"Eh? You've gotten a hold of them that fast?"

"You could say that…"

Later that day, whilst Sumi was walking through the halls to his dorm, he was stopped by Jade. More like blocked really, as the senior stood in the doorway of the dorms and wouldn't let him pass. Smiling cheerily, he waved a little.

"Greetings Kraitan-san. I have a little favour to ask of you."

_ Great, another Leech and his favours. _

"Greetings yourself. And alright I'll bite. What do you need me to do?"

Clapping his hands gracefully, his smile brightened.

"Wonderful. I just need you to check the broom warehouse, I left a broom outside when I was cleaning up but I'm too busy to fix my mistake now."

Sumi squinted at him, a million questions running through his head as Jade offered up a metallic key in his hand, and then sighed, taking it.

"Fine. You can count on me."

The door was unlocked??? Sumi made wild gestures, ranting inside his own head how cold and creepy the night already was and now he finds he didn't even need the key Jade gave.  _ Oh. Oh that was to lock it. Stupid. _ He picked up the broom, patting some of the dust off the handle and headed inside to put it away. All was fine until he heard the sound of someone else inside…

"Holy shit-"

The door slid closed, left slightly ajar so some of the dim light spilled inside. The creaking made Sumi jolt, his nerves getting even worse when he saw a tall silhouette near him. Suddenly, the lights flickered on, supposedly by the figure near him and he had a heart attack. Groaning, he collapsed against the wall, clutching his arms to himself.

"Ugh! Floyd!! Don't just scare me like that, I thought I was gonna get murdered!"

Floyd chuckled, casually stepping forward from the light switch and closer to Sumi.

"I see why Jade was laughing earlier. I'll need to ask him why he didn't just tell me earlier."

Confused, Sumi shot him a perplexed look.

"Uh? If you were looking for Leech-senpai, he said he was too busy to come here and asked me to put away a broom for him."

Floyd nodded, looking at the broom Sumi still held in his hand.

"Wait, Floyd, why are you here?"

"Jade said my little admirer would be here so I came. You wouldn't happen to have seen them would you, Crab-chan?"

Tilting his head, he shrugged, nearly not noticing how Floyd stepped even closer.

"Ehhhh. Nah, not really. An admirer huh? Did you get a love letter?"

_ Makes sense. You'd think everyone would be afraid of him, he and Jade are formidable opponents after all, but he is quite attractive and fun to be around. _ Floyd shook his head, surprising Sumi.

"No. I just kept hearing someone call for me in the hallways."

Paralysed instantly, Sumi's mouth went agape.

"Ah."

Floyd smirked, even closer than before, and leant down to rest his elbow on the wall next to Sumi's head, leaning in till their faces were centimetres away from each other.

"Now I think about it… that little admirer, wouldn't happen to be you, would it Crab-chan~?"

Sumi gulped, feeling thoroughly trapped in the position but unable to move anywhere else. Composing himself enough to not stutter, he tried to play it off aloof and playful, pretending as if his face didn’t have a growing blush.

"Well I was calling your name but I don't know about any secret admirer business."

Floyd's eyes took on their signature cold look, his normal warmth melting into a block of ice.

"Don't lie to me Crab-chan~"

Sumi scrunched his nose, narrowing his eyes 

"I didnt!! I only yelled your name cos I thought it would be funny."

"Oh? You didn't want anything?"

"Uh…"

Thoughtfully, Sumi looked to the floor as he pondered on how to answer, realising this was a chance to open up a time to talk with Floyd more freely.

"Uh. I… I owe you another favour. Since you got the bar to let me keep the suit and all. So I just wanted to know what you'd like that favour to be."

Floyd blinked, tilting his head as his breath lightly brushed Sumi's face.

"Only that? To ask me to give you something to do?"

Straightening his posture again, he laughed.

"Aww you're a silly one Crab-chan~"

"Y- Yeah, I just don't like leaving loose ends untied."

Holding a hand to his chin and lifting his head up, Floyd thought about his desired favour whilst Sumi focused on not collapsing on the floor and staring into Floyd's forehead so he wouldn't notice.

"Hmmm~ What do I want you to do… ah!"

Snapping his fingers, he grinned and winked.

"Join me before school, right here, early in the morning. I wanna go somewhere with you~!"

The sun rose with bright yawning arms, rays stretching everywhere and spreading it's golden touch to all. Sumi leaned against the warehouse, looking up at the sky. It was a cold blue, bright and warm, and empty of any clouds. At the sound of footsteps, which he realised he could recognise immediately, he looked down a little to see Floyd staring back at him, waving.

"Crab-chan~~ are you coming?"

Smiling with a sigh, he nodded, trudging along after him.

"Sure. Where're we going?"

He winked at his junior.

"It's a secret~"

The other rolled his eyes and merely folded his arms, feeling a little cold from standing around for half an hour waiting for him. Floyd seemed to notice his slight shivers.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing nothing, I'm just a little cold. Sucks I didn't remember to bring a coat."

"Cold? It's practically summer!"

"I feel the cold way more easily than I feel heat."

Thinking for a couple moments, Floyd stopped and grinned, taking a hold of Sumi's wrists.

"The fuck-"

"Shh shhh, this is a trick Jade taught me!"

After aligning Sumi's palms with each other, he clapped his own hands over them and folded his fingers on each side, so that they covered the entire hand. Rubbing his hands back and forth, he blew on his hands and softly chanted under his breath.

"Cold~ cold~ rise and warm up!"

He swiped his hands off quickly and grinned.

"See? Doesn't this help?"

Sumi blinked, staring at their hands before laughing.

"You're such a sweet dork, you know that right? Anyway, this does help to be honest. Thank you. Though it would be easier if I could slip my arms around your body and suck out your warmth like that."

Chuckling, he swung his arms so that Floyd let go and kept walking, vying for a spare machine to buy drinks from and missing the blush spread around Floyd's face. He stuck his arms in his pockets, focusing on the path forward but still glancing every so often at the little bobbing head of the junior. Quietly, he muttered.

"I… wouldn't mind that. Not when it's you Crab-chan."

Sumi turned to look up at him, blankly smiling.

"Hmm? Whats up?"

"Nothing nothing~'

"...Here. You told me to come so early to bring me  _ here. _ "

Cheerily, Floyd winked at Sumi's exhausted tone.

"Why of course~! I want ta race you."

"In a  _ swimming pool? _ "

Floyd pouted at his wild gesturing.

"Aww~ I thought it would be more fair like this. Since you're so small and can't run fast. I've never seen you swim before Crab-chan."

Sumi gripped the back of his elbow, scoffing at his words. The senior noticed this, recognising it as a sign of him being nervous.

"That's cos I can't swim. I'll drown, especially racing you! How does it being in water make it any less unfair?"

He shrugged, playfully grinning.

"Who knows~~"

Grunting, Sumi leant against the wall, staring at the water. It was tempting, so so tempting, but he couldn't. Not when Floyd was here. He didn't know how he'd react if he saw he was a mermaid- and a sea snake at that. The rippling blue shone against the tiles, shimmering waves of water all around. Floyd was looking at him expectantly, observing him carefully. He looked away, trying to think up an escape from this. Yes he had wanted another chance to talk more with Floyd but not this! Suddenly, the other walked to the edge of the pool, peering down into it. It took only a moment for Sumi's curiosity to gain the better of him and he asked.

"What's down there?"

Floyd winked at him.

"Come see for yourself Crab-chan~"

Huffing, Sumi rolled his eyes and walked over, standing next to him.

"I don't see anyth-iiiiIIIIING!"

A loud splash splattered droplets of chlorine filled water everywhere as Sumi fell in the water, Floyd laughing up on the deck. Wet droplets dripped from his hair as he glared up at him. The anger at being pushed in was quickly replaced by the fear that he'd see his natural form. Darting behind a wall, he hid as his legs slowly reverted to a tail. It was long, snaking around the edge of the pool, and striped black and dark blue, ending with a rounded tip. His skin slowly layered with scales, black and blue stripes crawling up his arms as his midriff and most of his face became white whilst black scales circled his eyes. His hands were a darker shade of blue from the rest of his body and his scales at the front of his torso seemed lightly splattered with lighter shades. The light in the water shimmered over them, glistening off the scales. He smiled, feeling more relaxed in this form and feeling the gills at his neck flap with ease. Flexing his fingers, he watched the nails form dark blue claws and felt his finned ears curl in delight. 

"Crab-chan?"

Floyd's voice rang through the air in confusion.  _ Shit. _

"Craaab-chan~"

Curiously, Floyd's footsteps moved to the other side of the pool and Sumi had to race to stay underneath his feet the entire time, hidden by the ledge of the floor that jutted out at every edge.

"Oh no, did you actually die?"

Panic rolled into Floyd's voice, shining through just a little. Sumi caught onto it, surprised and peered upwards at the blank surface of the ledge, where Floyd's feet would be. He was hoping he didn't dive in and see him but he couldn't swim up and reveal himself! 

"Oh no, was Jade and I wrong…?"

Sumi froze instantly, shocked and curious. Before he could speak a word, Floyd jumped into the pool too and joined him, looking all around before seeing him. In that instant, Floyd morphed into another form.

His legs drifted together and became a long tail, that of an eels, and greenish grey scales coated what was once his light skin. Fins trailed down his forearms and spine, tracing all through his tail which ended flayed. His ears were longer and finned too whilst his face seemed fairly unchanged, merely white with dark markings under his eyes yet the lazy shark like grin still plastered in his face. Dark stripes lined his arms, just under his shoulders, and around the sides of his torso. Ivory scales painted his midriff and led up to his face and hemmed the ends of his hands. His tail was a lot longer than Sumi's, coiling behind him in a spiral, the tip floating towards him a little. Sumi stared in shock, his hands drifting away from where he'd clung to the walls. 

"You… you're a mermaid too??"

Floyd seemed just as surprised as him, gaping at him stunned.

"I… ehh~?"

He began to grin, eagerly swimming closer to Sumi, wrapping a claw in his hair.

"Ahh~ So Crab-chan is actually Snake-chan hmm? I can't believe Jade was right."

He stared up at him, his tail swirling underneath and brushing against Floyd's as he tried to make sense of the words.

"Well yeah, what do you think Krait means. Wait, hold up, what? Jade?? Leech-senpai??"

Lazily winking, he smiled.

"Jade gave me a hint that you might be one too, he said he saw a potion bottle in your room."

"What was he doing in my room??"

He shrugged, thinking about it himself.

"It must have been when we were looking for a lost client, he was trying to escape his punishment."

Coldly glinting, his eyes shone brighter in the water.

"I squeezed him though, don't worry~"

Sumi didn't even bother asking, focusing solely on his face as he spoke.

"Wait so… you knew? Already?"

"Ahh~ Not really. I wanted to find out so I asked you to come here. Too bad you hid from me Crab-chan~"

"How was racing meant to be in any way fairer if you thought I wasn't a mermaid??"

Floyd grinned as his exasperation, the two of them sat together at the bottom of the pool, side by side. Sumi was still shorter than Floyd, his tail barely reaching where the end of the other's started but by this time he was used to it. The senior chuckled as he answered.

"You didn't really believe I'd race you did you? That was a lie so you'd get in."

"And what if I actually couldn't swim??"

He shrugged.

"I'd have to squeeze you with my tail to finish the job."

Sumi's eyes widened and he raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

He laughed, flicking the smaller mermaid's forehead.

"I'm kidding~ I wouldn't kill  _ you _ Crab-chan, you're too much fun."

"I… that's fair."

He thought for a moment, wringing his hands.

"Is that all you see me as then? A bit of fun? I kinda thought that we were friends."

Floyd blinked, uncertain how to answer at first.

"Hmm… I guess so. But I do like you Crab-chan, more than I do most people who aren't Jade. I guess friends it is~"

Staring at him, Sumi pursed his lips in a wondering confusion. It made him feel a little uneasy as the junior stared at him so intently.

"What?"

"Oh nothing, I just thought you'd try to tease me about that or something. But hells yeah, friends!"

He pumped his fist in the air, snickering. He laughed even harder when Floyd mimicked him with a whoop. Accidentally, his arm brushed against Sumi's and his eyes widened. Curiously, he poked Floyd's arm and then his cheek.

"Oh hey what the fuck, your scales feel different from mine."

"Hmm~?"

Floyd tilted his head and held the hand that had poked him, rubbing his thumb across the back of his palm. A faint blush dusted Sumi's cheeks as he did so.

"Ah~ you're right. Snake scales feel so dry. And yours are a little bumpy.”

He didn’t move as Sumi lifted his other hand to his face, half stunned as he felt the snake’s fingers lightly stroke his cheek and cup it softly. He leaned a little into the touch.

“And your eel scales are so much slicker… It’s interesting.”

Snickering, he shifted closer, drifting towards Floyd curiously.

“You’re brother’s a mermaid too?”

He nodded as he let go of the hand and both of their hands wafted back to their own bodies, Sumi’s clinging to his fingers while Floyd’s wrapped around his tail.   
“We were both born in the Coral Sea and took the same potion you do to walk on land.”

“Oh that’s like me! Do you ever miss it?”

Shrugging, he turned his gaze down at his green scales and the unfurled tail he held.

“...Sometimes. I like it up here though, it’s very fun and Jade keeps me company.”

The other nodded, wistfully looking up at the surface of the pool and leaning his back against the wall. Folding his tail inwards like knees, he held his arms around the loop, resting his chin on it as his hair floated past the side of his face and his eyes.

“...I see. You’re lucky. I miss it all the time. I never liked being at home but I always missed the sea. But, you know how it is, I got accepted into Night Raven so it’s not like I could pass up the chance could I?”

He laughed but his tone was a little sad, filled with a quiet longing. Noticing it, Floyd hesitated.

“I’m like that too. Sometimes anyway...”

Holding a hand up, Sumi studied the scales and how his dark blue fingers faded into the lighter blue of the rest of his body.

“I always miss my scales. Sometimes I just look at my hand and watch it in the light. Human hands look beautiful but... You know how it feels so different to have lungs and no scales? I used to hate that,” he started to laugh, “I would glare at myself in the mirror every morning and I hated being up there.”

Floyd hummed in agreement, watching the other closely. Cautiously, he reached out and softly placed a hand in Sumi’s hair. 

“Wh-”

“You really miss the sea don’t you. That’s what I walked in on you thinking about that day, isn’t it Sumi?”

He looked back at him, struck with surprise before nodding a little, not trusting himself to speak. Floyd seemed a little sad but he gently stroked Sumi’s hair reassuringly, ruffling it a little.

“But~ You have me now Crab-chan~ If you ever need to get into the pool alone, just break in or call me for help.”

Grinning at him, he held his thumbs up and Sumi laughed.

“As long as you don’t make me owe you another favour afterwards, you have a deal.”

“Hmm~ Now you mention it, maybe-”

“Don’t you  _ dare _ finish that thought you fucker.”

All the homesickness within him dissolved into giggles as laughter spread between the two of them. Once Floyd’s hand was gone from his hair, Sumi sprung forwards to him, his coiled tail aiding him with his lunge, and grabbed the senior’s hair instead. Chuckling as he messed it up, he winked at Floyd and stuck his tongue out.

“Now here’s your payback for messing with my hair~”

The other pouted, poking his stomach in protest.

“Heyyyy~ Leave my hair alone.”

The second the poke struck, Sumi started laughing, twirling his claws into his hair gleefully. Floyd kept poking him, jabbing lightly at his stomach and arms to stop him. Pretty soon, it was too much for Sumi and he lay off, rolling in the water as his chuckles rang throughout the pool.

“Stopppp! I’m ticklish like, everywhere!”

“Oh~?”

Devilishly smirking, Floyd tilted his head, a plotting glint in his eye.

“Then I guess I know what my next attack will be~”

“Wait, shit.”

Laughing as he swam, Sumi bolted to the other side of the pool, Floyd chasing after him. It was a little scary to see the moray speeding at him so quickly but he didn’t have time to really ponder about that. As big as the pool was, the edges were hurling painfully close to him so he darted to the side and swam in a circle. He was catching up, hot on his heels and maniacally laughing the entire time. They twisted round and round in the same circuit, Floyd eventually catching him and pulling his tail to a stop.

“OW! Dammit that hurt!”

“Aww~ Come here Crab-chan, I’ll kiss it better~”

Snickering, he put his hands on his hips and smirked in triumph as Sumi lay on the floor of the pool, smoothing his hands down his tail.

“Pfft, too early for that love. Buy me dinner first.”

“Don’t you mean breakfast?”

He looked up as he felt Floyd’s tail curl around the tip of his own.

“Huh? Whaddya mean, it’s night time isn’t it?”

The other laughed, holding out a hand. After accepting, Sumi found himself pulled straight up to his side.

“It’s still the morning silly~”

“Wait, shit it is? We’d better get out then shouldn’t we?”

Floyd pouted, his fins drooping.

“Aww~ But we were having so much fun~”

“I need breakfast dude. Besides I don’t want to miss history.”

Swimming upwards, he broke to the surface and was relieved to see no one had entered the room. Calmly, he folded his arms on the ledge and rested the side of his head on them, watching the waves reflect on the floor. Water splattered onto his face when Floyd surfaced next to him, mirroring his position.

“What’s wrong Crab-chan, I thought you needed to eat~”

Sumi was silent, merely looking at him thoughtfully. At first Floyd stared back but he quickly got bored of being confused.

“Whaaat?”

“Thanks.”

Blinking, he raised an eyebrow as the other’s sapphire eyes watched him unwaveringly. They seemed to soften as he shifted his gaze to the floor in front of him.

“Thanks, I said. For telling me you’re a mermaid and giving me a chance to have another swim.”

He smiled warmly at him, feeling like he was floating on the light froth that washes up on shore. Floyd nudged him with his elbow, smiling just as warmly back.

"Heyy~ Just call me if you ever want to go for a swim Crab-chan, I had a great time with you today."

"I will. I'd love to have another swim with you."

  
  


Floyd strolled to the counter, surprised to see Sumi already in the bar and mixing up a drink.

"Ehhh~? You're already here Crab-chan?"

Brightening at the sound of his voice, the other beamed at him nodding. After slipping the drink to the customer, he skipped towards Floyd and leant on the counter as he spoke.

"Yep!!! I finally decided I wanted to try working here! Azul agreed to let me-"

"You signed a contract with Azul? When?"

His voice seemed shocked and toned with worry. Faltering, Sumi shook his head.

"No? Azul's the manager so I had to speak with him but I read the contract and it was just for the job."

Floyd relaxed, his normal nonchalance slipping back on.

"Ah that's a relief."

"Why?"

Most of the bar seemed to look away as Floyd stared at him, dumbfounded.

"Crab-chan. Have you really never heard of Azul's contracts?"

"Nah not really, I don't bother much with that stuff. I live in a sea cave."

Snickering, he waved the tension out of the air and asked Floyd for his order, turning round with a wink to make it. The other watched him.  _ Permanent worker huh? Well, I'll always know where he is at least. And that uniform is cute on him~ _

Floyd became a frequent customer from then on, always buying similar drinks that were always as sweet as always. Seeing as this was far from usual, Azul raised an eyebrow to it but Jade convinced him not to question it, already knowing fairly well why.

“So. Kraitan-san once again hmm~?”

Jade smirked at his brother who was happily sipping at his milkshake. Looking up, he tilted his head.

“Hm? What do you mean?”

He pointed to the drink.

“Floyd, you almost never buy things without me, especially not at the Lounge.”

“Well I was thirsty today.”

“And yesterday. And pretty much everyday since Kraitan-san started working there.”

Floyd paused, nodding.

“Well~ Yeah, I got used to how he makes my drinks by now so I can’t ask anyone else.”

“Used to?”

“Doesn’t matter~ Your point Jade?”

He smiled, taking the drink from Floyd’s hand to take a sip from it.

“Nothing much. I’ve just noted how close you are with him. Hm, this really is a lot sweeter, how do you drink this so often?”

Floyd whined, snatching the drink back.

“Because it tastes nice~~ Now give it back, it’s mine!”

He laughed at his brother’s pouting but left the topic. After all, he already knew his answers.

Though it was midday, the lounge was fairly empty and void of any customers, leaving Sumi nothing to do but polish the counters and clean the glasses. Work was more strenuous than he thought and he was glad for such a calm day. Familiar clicking footsteps alerted him however and he looked up to smile at Floyd, waving as he approached. With a quick swipe, he wiped the edge before Floyd could put his elbow on the surface and leant over the counter.

“Hello there sir, what sweet thing would you like me to whip up today?”

Floyd stared into his eyes and then winked.

“I think I could go for some crab, how about it Crab-chan? You know what I’d like? You~”

Sumi laughed, feeling his heart beat a little faster. Even so, he winked right back.

“Coming right up~”

Leaning in, he reached up a hand to Floyd’s face…

...And began to play with his earring, batting at it like a kitten. Laughing, Floyd raised an eyebrow at him. The blue diamonds glittered in the light, shimmering with the movement as Sumi kept poking them over and over.

“Crab-chan are you actually Neko-chan? From crab to cat?”

Snickering, Sumi purred.

“Meow~~”

A silence fell between them as the other stared at his oblivious face, which was still occupied with the earring.

“...That was so cute. Do it again,do it again~!”

Sumi looked at him and blinked, realising what he’d said and shook his head, retracted his hand.

“What the fuck- no!”

“Awwww~ Come on~ Meow for me again!”

When he was shut down again, Floyd pouted, sulking a little. Still, the other refused to do it again so he switched tactics, reaching over with his hand to Sumi’s hair and petting it, running his fingers through the deep blue strands. After a few moments of this, Sumi’s head fell on the counter and he sighed.

“Fine...”   
He kept purring at the headstrokes, repeating once and once only.

“...meow~”

Floyd snickered, finding it adorable and not stopping the pets.

Eventually satisfied, Sumi lifted up his head.

“Oh right, it’s been a while.Are you free tomorrow?”

“Hmm~?”

He tapped his chin, thinking a little.

“I should be I think~”

Sumi beamed.

“Great! Wanna go for a swim in the sea? I know somewhere I wanna go with you and it’s my day off tomorrow.”

Staring into the excited sapphire eyes, he smiled, lifting Sumi's chin with a finger.

"Sure~ I'll buy you dinner while we're there~"

He grinned in response, laughing.

"Hells yes. I can't believe you remember that line but I'm always up for free food."

Getting up as a customer wandered over, he waved Floyd goodbye.

"It's settled then. See ya tomorrow morning!"

"Bye Crab-chan~"

  
  


Floyd hummed happily as he walked back to his dorm, thinking about the next morning. Jade was there, eyeing him curiously as he looked up from his book.

"You seem quite happy. Where were you?"

"Oh I was just talking with Crab-chan~ We're going for a swim together tomorrow since he said he had something to show me."

Raising an eyebrow, he shut his book and looked up at him with a smile.

"Ah, so a date? I see."

Floyd blinked.

"A date? No, I don't think it's a date."

"Well, you're going out together alone and you seem so happy over it. You're going to eat out as well I presume?"

"Yeah? I promised him I'd buy him dinner-"

"Date."

Jade laughed as his brother sat down next to him on the bed, thinking carefully.

"Wouldn't he tell me if it was a date?"

"Either he's hiding it from you or he doesn't know himself~"

_ This isn't a date. Right? Nah it couldn't be. Floyd has better things to do than go on a date, especially with me. _ Shaking his head as he ruffled through his closet, Sumi denied the idea, eyeing the thought with suspicion.  _ There was no chance. If Floyd even thinks it was a date then one, he is sorely mistaken and two, why hasn't he said something already? It's not like he is a disaster too. That much. Oh lord, this suit looks horrific. _ Scrunching his nose at it, he swiped it away to the other end of the rack and looked for something else to wear.  _ If it isn't a date then why am I looking so hard for something to wear? We'll be in the sea anyway so the clothes won't even stay. _ Picking out one of his light and dark blue tuxedos, he shrugged to himself.

"Welp, even if it's only an outing, there's no harm in dressing up. Not like I get to do this very often is it?"

"What?"

The second voice made him jump, startled.

Looking to his side, he saw his mystery roommate staring at him in shock. Their hair was a deep red and curled near their ears, contrasting the bright lavender anemone that sprouted from the middle of their head. Their eyes were pale pink and wide open in surprise. They wore the normal uniform but it seemed roughed up and scruffier as if they'd been running about a lot. Sumi blinked, studying them as they studied him back. He recognised them from some who lingered at the Lounge.

"...Hi? So you finally-"

"Who are you?? Why are you in my room??"

"Dude don't you  _ ever _ see me?? I'm literally your roommate!"

"Oh. Oh sorry, I thought you'd been- never mind."

Snickering, Sumi walked over and held out a hand.

"Well hi, I'm Sumi."

"Isaac. Nice to meet you I guess."

They shook his hand and he offered them a bright smile.

"You too dude. Nice to see you finally show up, I thought this place was basically mine by now."

Isaac nervously laughed, their eyes darting to the floor.

"Aha… yeah… I don't get much time to myself very often."

"Well," He turned back to the wardrobe, picking out a hat to match, "I'd love to talk with you more sometime but I wanna get this done before my next shift at the Lounge."

"Oh?"

They wandered over to their own bed and pat the sheets, seeming to sink into it when they lay down.

"Are you going out somewhere after?"

"Tomorrow in fact, I'm gonna go meet someone."

"Wow you have a date already? Luckyyy…"

Sumi laughed, shaking his head as he found a sand dollar clip instead and studied it.

"Nah, just a little… walk around with Floyd."

"Floyd Leech???"

Disturbed by the panicked tone of his roommate, Sumi looked up in surprise. They were gaping at him in awe and in concern. Slowly, they sat up straight on the bed and leant towards him in shock.

" _ The _ Floyd Leech? You're going on a date with that creepy lackey of Azul?"

"Creepy-! Ok yeah I guess. Date-! Oh ok fair. Uh. Yeah?"

He shrugged, raising an eyebrow.

"Though I thought he and Azul were just friends rather than something like a 'lackey'..."

"Do you not know?"

"Know what?"

Blankly looking at them, he tilted his head as they covered their mouth in shock.

"You really don't know??? About Azul and what he does and how those two twins help him?"

"I'm not catching your drift, no. If you mean the strangling thing then yeah I know that."

"And you still- Ok no not that."

Sighing, Isaac pointed to the anemone on their head.

"You see this?"

"Yeah?"

"You don't think it's weird at all?? I didn't have this when I first came into the school."

"Bro I've seen loads of people wearing that, I thought it was a trend or something."

They groaned at his obliviousness.

"It's not a  _ trend, _ it's a punishment. We all signed contracts under Azul, unfair contracts, and sold our magic for better grades. Now that he's tricked us, we all have this anemone that pulls on our heads when he wants us to do something! He's utterly horrible about it too, making us run errands from 6am till 10!"

Frustratedly, Isaac wildly gestured to their head as they spoke.

"Ohhh so THAT is why you're never around."

Sumi nodded understandingly, immediately concerned for them.

"Yeah. And those two twins, Jade and Floyd, go around ruining your chances of finishing contracts or chase you around and half kill you if you run away!"

"Ah. I see."

He had a little idea as to why Jade had been in his room now. And why Floyd had been opposed to him signing a contract with Azul. Folding his arms, he frowned in worry.

"Well fuck, Isaac that's a big problem you have there. A few things are starting to make sense now but damn. Uhhhh what if-"

"Don't try and help me, I don't like being so pitiful. Luckily at least, I think there's this one kid who's made a deal to free all of us with the anemones. I'll be free by tomorrow."

Smoothly, they slid to the side of the bed nearest to Sumi and leaned down to look into his eyes.

"I may be alright but you should be careful. There's no telling what the guy could do to you."

"...Noted."

That's what Sumi had said in response but he didn't really know what to think.  _ I'll ask him about it later, see if that's true. For now, I should just get to the mirror. _ Despite what was probably common sense, he was dressed up, wearing the suit in two shades of blue as well as pulling up half of his hair into a high ponytail for once and clipping on the sand dollar. It was… unusual for him to go as far as doing his hair, especially to go without a hat, but he decided where he was going was worth it. And who he was going with. When he met Floyd at the mirror, he noted the other's lack of upgrades to his appearance, being in just a plain shirt and trousers.  _ Fuck. Right. Not a date and yet you decided to dress up anyway which isn't what normal people do. _ Floyd seemed surprised to see how he was dressed.

"Ehhh~? Crab-chan?"

Sumi scratched the back of his neck, laughing.

"I feel overdressed. I get that clothes probably don't matter but hey, I thought it'd be fun…"

His voice faded a little, tinted with awkward laughter. He felt his nerves go up, even though it was just Floyd, he felt so so stupid. Thoughts spiralling, he felt his cloud high happiness start to sink lower and deeper into his soul.  _ Stupid. Now he probably feels awkward. Why couldn't you be normal. Why couldn't you have just dressed normally. What use was trying to be happy about this? It's not like Floyd seems to ca- _

"You don’t have your hat, did something happen to it?”

Completely discounting the difference in their dress, he reached out and lightly stroked the clip in Sumi’s hair.

“Well, you look cute in anything anyway.”

Nonchalantly, he smiled at him and patted his head. Sumi’s smile returned, brightly shining as he gestured to the mirror.

“Aha- Well, you look handsome as always. Now, shall we go?”

“Of course! No need to be slow Crab-chan~!”

Pushing him through with a laugh, Floyd jumped into the mirror after him. Blinding white encircled them in a passage as they were transported to the Coral Sea.

Bubbles floated past them, lifting up to the sky in their gentle grace. Currents whisked around like breezes of underwater wind carrying small fish to other places. Shimmering light streamed down the water and lit up the colourful life that resided within the sea, waves of dark and deep blue water melding into the light. Hugging their scales with its soft embrace, the salty sea water wrapped its arms around the two mermaids as they started to swim. Coral was littered all around, splashes of colour that brightened up the landscape beautifully. Sumi grinned as he looked around, twirling in the water with a laugh as he spiralled, his tail creating small circles that slipped past like an endless coil.

“Ahhh~ It’s been so long since I came back to the sea! I missed this.”

Floyd laughed as he watched him, copying his motions until they were both twirling in small circles, spinning round and round side by side.

“Me too~ I don’t think I ever came here without Jade.”

“You sure spend a lot of time with your brother huh?”

“He’s the only person who understands how to have fun, other than you and Azul anyway.”

Sumi snickered, stopping his spins to nod.

“I feel you, I’m like that with my sister. Less so with my brother but the connection’s still there at least.”

“Oh?”

Floyd stopped in surprise.

“You have siblings Crab-chan?”

He nodded, spreading his arms out wide and falling backwards in the water as he spoke.

“Yepp~ I don’t talk to you about them much but all the bar workers have probably seen me boast about them and their talents.”

Watching him curiously, he laughed at the other’s antics.

“Ah~ I thought you were a lonely only one.”

“Pff nah I’m the lonely older one! I don’t see my sibs very often since I’m at Night Raven all the time and don’t like visiting home.”

“Why not?”

“Too much of a hassle. I don't even go during the holidays, I either stay at the dorm or go visit a friend. Oh hey, who’s older between you two?”

“Me and Jade you mean?”

“Yeah, you two are like identical twins right? But like who’s older.”

Floyd smirked and started to slowly swim away.

“I don’t know Crab-chan~~ How about you guess~?”

“It’s Jade isn’t it. Oh wait, but that would be obvious wouldn’t it. Is it you then? Or the reverse? Are you just older but you pretend that Jade is older?”

As he rambled on about the opportunities, Floyd laughed at him.

“So many possibilities~ But that’s not a firm guess.”

“Ok, Jade.”

Without flinching, he replied immediately.

“Maybe~”

“What?? Ok, you!”

Just as casually as before, he repeated.

“Maybe~”

“Arghhh! Just tell me!!”

He laughed at his frustration, watching him float towards him with his arms folded. Sumi never got actually angry very easily, so he knew it was all fake. Ruffling his hair and nearly messing up the neat ponytail, he snickered

“You’re so cute Crab-chan~~”

“Hey wait don’t do that! Goddammit, I LITERALLY made it neat for the first fucking time in forever for today.”

Hissing through clenched teeth, Sumi untied his hair and let it fall loose around his shoulders as he redid the ponytail, holding the clip in his mouth as he did. Floyd gazed at him, noting how the strands curled around his face in the water and wafted everywhere, a couple floating like thin curtains over the ocean deep eyes of his. As he struggled, Floyd chuckled and swam silently up behind him, gently prising the clip from his fingers and curling a claw around his hair.

“Pfft can’t you tie your hair by yourself? Here, I’ll do it for you~”

Rolling his eyes, Sumi retracted his hands, letting him do what he wanted. He ignored the faint blush of surprise he’d gotten when he had felt the eel sidle up behind him.

“Shut up, it ain't my fault my hair hates me and I hate it. We just have the mutual understanding that our relationship would never work.”

Laughing, Floyd nodded.

“I see~”

Sumi waited as he did his hair, feeling Floyd’s fingers pull and tug gently at each strand. His mother used to do his hair, he remembered it from when he was younger, but it was always harsher, yanking at each string and twisting them together. It always hurt, he’d gotten used to the pain over time and in time, preferred it. It felt tighter and more secure than when someone did it gently. But Floyd… he was soft and careful in his touch, deliberate as he twirled the hair together and bunched it together in his hands. It was smooth and quick but not too light either. He decided he liked it, smiling to himself as his hands curled together, softly mimicking two hands holding as they twisted around each other. His hands were both the same size so it didn’t feel as right… It didn’t feel like that one time when Floyd had found him by the window...

_ Fuck. _ Pulling it tight and clipping on the sand dollar, Floyd sang as he finished.

“Done~”

Sumi lifted up a hand and felt the ponytail, surprised at how neat it felt. Much smoother than how he’d made it, even after all that struggle with the comb. Confused, he smirked.

“Damn this actually feels nice. You should do my hair more often, where the fuck did you get these skills?”

Floyd winked, placing a finger over his lips.

“It’s a secret~”

“Just like if you’re older than Jade huh? Welp, I’m not getting anything else out of you for now so let’s go, I did actually plan to take you somewhere.”

Laughing, he gestured for him to follow as he swam, his eyes lingering on Floyd’s hands. Mouth set in a line, he tried to ignore the feeling at first. His defenses were easily broken and he rolled his eyes at himself. Floyd followed him dutifully as he zipped through coral arches and doorways, heading to a more desolate area. His focus remained steadily on the blue and black tail that flowed in front of him in smooth flaps. That very tail slowed, lagging behind till he was at Sumi’s side. Raising an eyebrow, he started to say something when Sumi suddenly slipped his fingers in between his own, intertwining their claws.

“You’re so slow~”

Laughing, he tilted his head at the snake.

“What’s up Crab-chan? Miss the feeling of my hands in yours~?”

Staring straight at him, Sumi grinned.

“Yes actually. Your hands are bigger than mine so it feels nice.”

“Oh.”

Not really able to form a response, Floyd merely let him lead, looking around at their surroundings so Sumi wouldn’t see the growing coral rust dusting his cheeks.

“We’re here~~!”

Opening his arms out with flourish, Sumi pointed to the castle and then spun around excitedly. Floyd looked up at it in wonder, taking it all in with a curious eye. It was a deserted ruins, castle-like in structure and size. The old grey bricks had faded with time and seaweed grew in between its cracks, little critters crawling all over its edges. Banners fluttered in the water and barnacles encrusted its rusting iron gates. Eagerly gesturing, sumi swam inside, expectantly peering to see if Floyd would follow. He did. The castle was wide and open, the first room being a banquet hall big enough to host nearly all of Night Raven College’s dorms put together. 

“Wow~ This sure is an interesting place you got Crab-chan~ You live here?”

Chortling, he shook his head as he swam behind a suit of armour left behind and slipped the helmet on.

“What am I, the ghost of a knight or something? Nah, I just found this place one day whilst exploring when I ran- when I first started taking interest in the places outside my home.”

Floyd lifted the helmet off his head, laughing.

“This suit’s too big for you little crab~ Why don’t you try the itty bitty starter armour for the kids?”

Scrunching his nose, Sumi huffed at him, even more as he slid the helmet on himself and it fit him perfectly, rather than hanging loosely and awkwardly off his head like it did with Sumi. 

Swimming to the other side of the hall, he found a large tarp and ripped it off its post, wincing as the metal clattered to the floor. 

With a dramatic spin, he held the tapr like a cape and posed regally in it. 

“I would much rather be a Prinx than a lowly knight anyway.”

Floyd smiled and stole the rotting sword from the suit, swimming upward to the snake who found a crown and placed it atop his head.

“Well then, my prinx,” mimicking a kneeling pose, Floyd purred, “I will do whatever it takes to protect you. You have my knightley oath on that.”

Sumi stared at him, his brain forgetting to function as he melted inside.

“I- uh-fuck dude don’t do that to me.”

Covering his face with his hands, he let the makeshift cape sink to the floor as the other’s giggles filled the halls.

“Whyever not my prinx~?”

“Because I said that thinking you wouldn't actually call me it!!”

“Do you not want me to?”

“No, I mean yes I do want you to, but that’s not my point here-”

“What is the point?”

“The point is shut up, I’m the one who does the flirting here.”

Floyd laughed as he huffed, turned his head away, the crown sliding askew.

“Aww~ You’re so adorable Crab-chan~”

“ _ Listen- _ it isn’t my fault your smile is so adorable and blinds me like the sun.”

It was Floyd’s turn to become flustered at the reflected flirt as Sumi smirked behind his hands. The sword clanged as it fell and they were both left in silence, trying to recover from their bright red faces. After a few heartbeats, Sumi perked up.

“Oh!! Do you wanna play hide and seek?”

“Hm~?”

“It’s been a while since I’ve been here but I remember going through the entire castle. There’s loads of fun places to hide! I should seek, since I already know them all but it’ll be fun!”

Nodding in agreement, the other grinned.

“Alright Crab-chan~ Don’t feel too bad if you can’t find me~”

Sumi grinned back, laughing as he shooed him away.

“And don’t feel bad when I find you and your tall tail in less than ten seconds. It’s a big place though so to make it fairer, shout out from your hiding place when you’re ready.”

“Got it~”

Darting away, he let the helmet go back on the stand of armour and rushed off to find a hiding place whilst Sumi closed his eyes, covering them with his hands as he counted.

“One… two… three...”

He kept going for a while, figuring it’d be best to give Floyd more time.

“47… 48… 49...50! Ready?”

A shout rang from where the bedrooms and kitchens were, leading Sumi to grin knowingly.

“Ready~”

Bolting into that side of the castle, he checked all the hiding places he knew of, within the closets, the drawers, the boxes, under the tables. Everywhere. He even double checked over and over. Scratching his head, he frowned, not finding him.

“The fuck…?”

A shout from a room on the other side of the castle rang out teasingly.

“Are you looking for me or not Crab-chan~?”

Narrowing his eyes as he heard the familiar snicker, Sumi darted over, swimming slowly to check everywhere again and then entering the study and the chambers full of books. Nothing. Little slivers of silvery fish scattered out of the way as he checked the smaller dark corners. He still couldn’t find Floyd.

“What the hell, how’d I lose someone so big?”

Laughter rang like bells in the ballroom, clear and giggly. Squinting, he huffed and followed it, bursting through the doors in his search. The ballroom was extravagant and laden with hiding places. Sighing exasperatedly, he rolled his eyes.

“Why did I let him hide anywhere he wanted? I forgot just how big this place is!”

As he searched the room, he started to hum a tune out of habit. But instead, words drifted out in a slow song, reverberating out of his chest as he sang loudly. He twirled to the tune, dancing by himself as he flipped open boxes and checked under tarps and benches. But he never looked up, at where the chandelier hung with the form of an eel draped across its crystal glass. 

Floyd grinned as he watched Sumi spin around by himself, dancing quirkily in a way that mainly consisted of spinning and swimming around in circles and loops. Often, he’d jut out an arm and hold the other to his heart, his voice growing louder as he did so. Chuckling, Sumi stopped, groaning with a sigh after having a small laugh.

“Welp. That was a waste. I’m kinda glad he isn’t here, but I guess it would’ve been fun to dance around in here too. Even if it was only to be a joke.”

Seizing his chance, Floyd grinned and silently lsd off the chandelier, its crystal chimes softly twinkling with a crystalline whine. Before Sumi could notice, he rushed forward, wrapping him in a hug from behind. He felt the other flinch a little, his shoulders raising hunchedly. In an instant, the snake’s tail coiled itself around Floyd’s tail, tightly squeezing as his claws held his arms and dug into the scales. He felt Sumi’s breath on his hand as the other’s face had learnt in close, fangs open and ready to strike. It took him a second to realise it was Floyd and his grip loosened, the tail still curled in a twine around his tail but the hands merely holding on lightly. As his head straightened, his hands slid down to Floyd’s and held onto the palms. His fingers softly rubbed against where his nails had tried to dig, as if attempting to heal any harm done, as his face tipped back to smile.

“Found you~”

Floyd raised an eyebrow, gazing down at the small mermaid. His heart was loud and pounding in his ears, a rush of excitement and thrill coursing through him as he smiled.  _ Why is Crab-cahn always so cute sometimes? _

“Wasn’t that a little daring of you~ What were you planning to do if it wasn’t me?”

Sumi snickered, clinging onto his arms and pulling Floyd’s hands down, so that his head rested on his own.

“I’m a Banded Sea Krait, even as a mermaid I’m still venomous you know~ If I had bitten you, then you would’ve felt it.”

“Oh~? That’s quite an arrogant sentence coming from such a tiny crab like you~”

Sumi shrugged, not sure what to say and instead slipping out of Floyd’s grip. His tail was still coiled around the eel’s, a twisted rope of striped blue and black against dark grey green. Wrapping himself even more around Floyd, his tails slithered up his body as he spun around him, only stopping once he was behind the eel. Slumping his head on his turquoise hair, he threaded his arms onto each of Floyd’s shoulers, the tails securely wrapped around his torso.

“I’m tired now~ Carry meeee!”

“...This isn’t the best of positions-”

“Shut up, I’m a tiny little crab aren’t I? You can handle it.”

Raising an eyebrow, he merely laughed and held onto Sumi’s arms with his hands, sliding his palms down to intertwine their fingers again.

“This is dampening my dorsal fin a little-”

“You’ll be fineeeee~”

“Well would you like to accompany me to dinner since you’re so tired?”

“That’d be greatly appreciated actually. My body is shit at sports so I need to replenish that energy.”

Floyd snickered.

“I knew that. You aren’t the best at races when it’s time for sports class.”

“ _ Tell me about it _ , I do well in written exams sure but how do I compete when my body literally hates exercising with every fibre of itself??”

“Sucks for you~”

“Shut up, you have no room to talk Mr I Have Super Long Legs. Why couldn’t my human form make me taller. This is so unfair.”

He pouted, sinking his face into Floyd’s hair as the other laughed, swimming slowly through the halls.

“Well it does make it easier for me to carry you at least. But you’re good at climbing, I’ve never seen someone jump up a tree so fast or clamber over other people’s heads for free food.”

“Listen, I’ll do anything for free food.”

“Hmm~ Even go on a date with me?”

“Definitely. But this isn’t a date, I wanted to show you this place but then you were so stupidly good at hiding I tired myself out.”

Laughing loudly, Floyd reached up and aimed a flick at Sumi’s forehead. It missed and hit his ear instead, causing the other to join in with his chuckles.

“Oh my- was that meant to go to my face? You moron, where’re you aiming??”

“Shush, I can’t do it well whilst you’re on top of me!”

“Well I guess I gotta stay on top of you then, as protection.”

“Oh even while we go to eat?”

Sumi blinked and quickly shook his head, his face reddening a little.

“What?? Of course not! I’ll get off of you when we’re out of the castle, we’ll just need to take a quick break first.”

Sensing his nervousness, Floyd grinned evilly and whined.

“Awww~ But Crab-chan~~ I wouldn’t want to force you to go so far by yourself~ You’re a tiny little crab, I can handle it~!”

“Floyd I swear to god don’t you dare.”

The other merely sped up in response, smirking mischievously.

“FLOYD! GODDAMMIT!”

Voice squeaking a little at the sudden rush, Sumi grumbled and held on, slipping his head onto his arm instead, resting on Floyd’s shoulder. Whispering straight into the other’s ear, he wondered aloud.

“Hey are you ticklish?”

“Nope~”

He grinned as the other gasped in horror, immediately pouting again.

“What?? God that is so unfair.”

Scrunching his nose, he quietened down and just relaxed as Floyd swam towards the city, seemingly unhindered by the extra weight. As close as they’d gotten with each other, Sumi couldn’t remember another time someone else felt so… there. Right next to him. There to hold him up when he couldn’t go on. And to hold onto when he needed help to do so. It was a nice feeling, along with the cool slimy scales that felt slick against his own. He played around with Floyd’s hands, rubbing his fingers over the back of their palms and just enjoying the feeling of the scales so different to his own. Floyd felt the same but on the reverse, quietly smiling to himself every time he felt Sumi’s tail wrap a little tighter around him. It was weird but interesting to feel the tail curled around him. The dry scales were a little prickly as if each scale was serrated with points. If it were anyone else, he probably would’ve squeezed them to death by now. But not Sumi, he felt too… attached to him. Being so close with him didn’t feel weird at all, he didn’t even mind it when the other randomly started drawing circles into his hands. He felt the other snicker and then began to laugh, his voice vibrating form his chest.

“I can’t believe you’re actually doing this, you’re such a dork.”

“You’re the one enabling me Crab-chan~”

“When we get weird looks, I’m saying this is your fault.”

“Then I can just truthfully say that it was, indeed, your fault. You started this and now we will finish it.”

“You’re such a weird dork, I love you.”

Sumi half whispered the last words with a laugh, though they were picked up by the other anyway, since he was right next to his ear. Floyd tried to hide the way everything seems to freeze, the only thing he could focus on being Sumi.

“Eh? Have you fallen for me already?”

Quickly adding, Sumi rejected the idea,

“The fuck, no! Platonically, as friends as friends, doofus.”

“Ah~ I see~”

Thinking for a moment as he waited from his heart to calm down, Floyd’s smile softened from its edge and he added softly.

“I think. I love you too.”

Sumi tried not to smile himself silly. He knew Floyd meant it as a friend but hearing the words directed at him still felt special. He cuddled up against the other’s neck a little more and watched as they entered the street of shops. To his surprise, no one really cared. Sure a few people gave them some looks but generally everyone lived their own life. He could feel the smugness radiating off of the smile Floyd wore, even though he couldn’t see it. Rolling his eyes, he just stayed on until the eel entered a restaurant and booked a table. 

“Finally! Food!”

Laughing at him, Floyd watched Sumi slither off of him and onto a seat, feeling an empty longing for the feeling of being with him the second he left. Taking his own seat next to him, he slid the menu to Sumi and waited to order.

“I said I would pay so pick whatever you like Crab-chan~”

“Alright. What’re you having?”

“Ehh. I’ll probably just have what I normally order. It’s my favourite food after all.”

“Is it a dessert.”

Floyd looked across the table to see Sumi deadpanning at him

“Why would you think that~?”

“Do you just have desserts for every meal?”

He leaned forward with a grin.

“Perhaps~ Not my fault if you don’t have the stomach for it~”

Laughing, Sumi shrugged, scanning the menu.

“Pfft that’d be too sweet for me, I’ll take something sour for now.”

Tapping on something, he slid his order back to Floyd and waited, playing around with the forks and knives provided.

“...Hey Floyd?”

“Yes Crab-chan?”

Floyd paused in their mini sword fight between their knives, looking up at the other curiously. Sumi bit his lip, a concerned expression on their face.

“...So I met my roommate yesterday.”

“The one you always joke is a ghost?”

“The one. Anyway, they were surprised when I told them I was going out- like on a walk I mean- with you and told me about the things you help Azul do.”

“Oh? Are you trying to ask me about some rumours Crab-chan~? I didn’t know you were so gullible- actually no that suits you quite well.”

Sleazily grinning, he raised an eyebrow mockingly. Sumi snickered and rolled his eyes.

“Nah, they just told me about the contract things Azul does. Told me to be careful and all. But it isn’t like you didn’t nearly kill me the first time we met and… those other times before we got closer to each other.”

He paused and stared hard at the table. 

“Oh jeez I need to rethink my choice in friends.”

Floyd sniggered but paused, a calmer yet uncertain look washing over his face. It wasn’t as warm as his smile but not as cold as it got when he felt murderous. His voice was quiet as he answered, half uncertain in his words as his own gaze turned towards his hands.

“...I won’t hurt you Sumi. I… I don’t think I could. You’re like Jade but smaller, it wouldn’t... feel right to do it.”

Blinking, Sumi fell a little quiet. His voice perked up a little when he finally spoke.

“Well… pfft I kinda thought that was the case anyway. I don’t know though, what about the contract stuff? Does the school even allow him to do that?”

Floyd shrugged.

“Azul’s too smart to get caught by those teachers- or rather, get into trouble for it.”

“I see. Hmm what if I-”

“Don’t.”

Sumi looked at him in surprise, his tone having fallen more serious and worried.

“Don’t… ask Azul for anything like that. I… If you have a wish to be granted, let me grant it for you.”

It took a moment for him to process the words, even more to hide his heart melting inside. Slipping on a smile, he took Floyd’s hand and held it to his heart.

“Sure~ And I offer my hand to you in the same way, my loyal knight.”

Floyd laughed lightheartedly at the words but still took Sumi’s hand and mirrored the gesture, smiling genuinely at him. The other beamed back. A waiter coughed.

“Right, fuck, we were gonna eat, food before sappy love confessions!”

Snickering, Sumi let go of the hand and sat down properly again, Floyd poking his forehead.

“Idiot~”

After they’d eaten, it was getting time to go back. Snickering, Floyd elbowed Sumi as they swam.

“Want me to carry you back to school too Crab-chan~?”

“No no I’m fine Floyd. I have energy.”

They both laughed and kept swimming back. As he cracked his neck out of the blue, Sumi exclaimed with a sigh.

“Yo, this was really fun. I haven’t had a reason to come back in so long, I forgot how nice it is here.”

“So you’ve said, so many times.”

“Shit, I repeated myself that much?”

Floyd laughed as he put a hand to his mouth, biting his lip.

“Sorry, pfft I always forget what I’ve already said.”

“No need to be sorry~ It’s a cute little quirk of yours~”

“I swear, you never tell me I’m anything other than cute.”

“Well that’s what you are. A cute little crab.”

Sumi huffed and swam so that he was taller than Floyd.

“Is it cos of my height? What if I was this big, would I still be cute?”

Softly holding his cheeks with one hand, the other shrugged.

“I think you’d be cute no matter how tall you were. But you’re tiny and angry so you’re just a little crab.”

He narrowed his eyes but sighed.

“Fine, that makesh shensh. Now let go of my faysh.”

Floyd started sniggering, sliding a hand behind Sumi to pull him a little closer.

“Awww~ That sounds so funny~ Do it again! Do it again!”

Rolling his eyes, Sumi crossed his arms.

“Fine. What do you want me to shay?”

“Hmm~ Floyd-senpai!”

“Floyd-shenpai ish the mosht annoying pershon to ever live. Now shtop it.”

He prised the hand off as the other giggled. Huffing, he continued.

“Ok but back to the topic, do you only see me as cute?”

Floyd hummed in thought and then reflected the question.

“What about you? What do you see me as?”

“Avoiding the question ha ha I see how it is. But suck for you, I’m prepared to answer.”

Smirking, he started counting on his fingers as he listed the adjectives.

“I see you as cute, adorable, handsome, hot, pretty, beautiful, chamring, dazzling, fun, awesome, great-”

Floyd put a finger to his lips, surprise widening his eyes as he nervously laughed.

“Ahhh~ You have so many~~ Do you really want to praise me that much?”

Sumi looked at him dead in the eye and nodded.

“Of course, I love praising people and I have especially a lot for you.”

Floyd snickered and nodded, pulling away to think about his own reply.

“Hmm~ Well I think you are very cute and handsome and you look great when you wear the suits you like and your smile is adorable. Does that count~”

Sumi blinked and smiled.

“Yes. Yes it does. I’m quite flattered you think any of that.”

Floyd smirked.

“There’s more~”

He quickly clamped a hand over his mouth, distrusting the smile.

“Listen as much as I love being praised and giving praise, we gotta get back to school and I really do not wanna hear what you’re gonna say with that cheeky smile.”

They both laughed in unison and he agreed. Sumi let go of his mouth but then Floyd caught his hand.

Slipping the hand behind him to curl around his waist, Floyd caught Sumi’s hand and intertwined their fingers once more. His tail coiled around Sumi’s, much like the snake had done earlier, and he leaned forward, causing the other to grab his neck and be dipped backwards.

“Well~ To another day where we get to meet again, my prinx Sumi~”

Sumi’s face reddened, less subtle under his white scales than it would’ve been under his skin.

“Woahhh wait you can’t just ufcking do that, that’s-”

“Unfair?”

He narrowed his eyes as Floyd interrupted him with laughter.

“No, it’s… Yes ok I was gonna say unfair. Anyway. Fuck you, stop surprising me like that.”

Sumi’s mind was no longer functioning and all he could focus on was Floyd’s soft laughter. Soon, his suave self returned to him and in relief, he smiled again.

“But. Of course, my knight~ However, next time,” he leaned in to whisper into Floyd’s ear for effect, “ _ I lead. _ ”

  
  


There weren’t many chances for other outings like that. Sumi didn’t often get time off work and when he did, he was often sick. He caught colds really easily, which annoyed him as a mermaid, but his human body was so sensitive to the cold that he caught them ea\sily in the autumn. Floyd visited him a lot, not staying long but making hot chocolates for him, something Sumi insisted on since he used to sneak so many drinks for the eel after the bar was already closed. Jade even came once or twice, often bearing a small gift. Sumi’s co workers were his main company during his off days though, some shared his classes and he groaned as they came in with missing homework. He never minded it too much though, since it helped to have something to do. Free of Azul’s control, his roommate was still almost never around but helped to take care of him too. For this reason, Sumi began wearing a thick blazer to work, explaining to the manager that he didn’t want to get sick too easily, especially as winter was rolling in. Of course, it was also a dark purple to match the uniform so no one minded much. It didn’t make him work any less either so his manager never minded.

Floyd noticed this blazer as he approached the counter, wondering if he should try to steal it and tease Sumi with it. It probably shouldn't since he's got a cold. Leaning on the counter, he waved to gain Sumi’s attention. It didn’t work as he was too occupied chatting with the customer he was serving. Pouting a little, he thrummed his fingers on the wood, to the tune of the melody Sumi seemed to always sing. That’s what he thought it was in tune to anyway but it didn't really sound much like it. It worked though. After sliding the glass to their hand, Sumi walked straight towards Floyd, humming the same tune without looking up from the cuffs on his coat that he was fixing. Looking up with a cheesy grin, he half sung.

“Well hello there sir Floyd, what can I get for you today~”

Floyd grinned back.

“Something super sweet.”

“Aha, so another one of the milkshakes with whipped cream right?”

“Nope~ I want you~”

He blinked in surprise, sniggering.

“AWw you think I’m sweet. Well, who am I to reject such a gentleman’s request~?”

He leaned in and booped Floyd’s nose.

“Anyway, what do you actually want.”

Smirking, Floyd rested his head in his palm and repeated.

“I already said it. You, Crab-chan~”

“W-What?”

Sumi raised an eyebrow, setting down the glass he’d picked up in preparation.

“You need me to do something, or?”

Floyd nodded, pointing to him.

“Yep~! I want to meet you after your shift is over, I hear there’s gonna be snow tonight and there’s a place I want to show you while it snows.”

Brightening, Sumi beamed, drumming his fingers on the table in excitement.

“Oh!!! I don’t think I’ve seen snow much before!! Sure, I can’t wait!”

“Great! Meet me here after the bar's closed. And bring your coat, it’ll be really cold.” 

He pointed to his coat, deadpanning at him.

“Bro if I have to wear this even when I’m inside, I’m sure as heck going to wear it outside too. You best be wearing one as well!!”

Floyd laughed, poking the other’s forehead.

“Of course of course~”

“Right, it’s a date then I guess. Just like last time.”

The word struck both of their hearts, dropping like a stone into them and barrelling into their minds. Playing it off nonchalantly, he nodded and actually ordered.

“Yep. Now can I have my overload of sugar~?”

“Coming right up!”

Sumi rubbed his fingers and wrapped the scarf closer to his mouth. He had gloves and a thick coat on in preparation and just hoped outside was cold enough to warrant his preparation. If not, he’d die from heat stroke rather than fever. The bar was silent, the cool colours floating around just like they had that first time he’d served Floyd. He smiled, the memory seemed so long ago now. He’d known him so much less… But now where the hell was he??? Huffing, he pouted and sulked against the glass, spying his reflection in it and fixing his hair as yet again, his ponytail got messed up. It seemed like it was truly against ever being perfect.  _ Ugh where’ Floyd when you need him, he fixes my hair so easily. I suppose anyone could really, but it feel nicest when he does it. _ Smiling, he lay his cheek on the glass, the cold rushing against this skin in contrast to the burning fire that was his coat. In the window, a light flashed and then movement zipped by in the form of a door opening. He looked up, eyes sliding over to the door, and gasped softly. Floyd never dressed up normally, either in his normal uniform of the t-shirt and trousers. But this time, his hair was slicked back a little. Under a navy coat, he wore a slightly fancy suit, coloured blue and purple. His gloves were a silky sea blue and in his hand, he held a blue rose. Waving, he winked.

“Heyyyy~ Nice to see you Crab-chan~”

“Bro what the literal fuck.”

Floyd blinked, stunned for a second before laughing.

“Awww~ All this effort and that’s the first thing you say?”

Sumi gestured to everything the other was wearing in shock.

“No no, you look utterly handsome and I love how everything looks on you but if we were going to look a little special for this you should’ve told me!”

“Well… I told Jade about how you dressed up the last time we met up and he said that you were probably going to do the same thing this time so I should try to match.”

Sumi stared at him before his head teetered and no words came out of his mouth.

“Aww~ Was I wrong?”

“Nah, that’s… that’s fair. Ok admittedly, I was going to do that but then I was going to put on my coat and gloves and scarf so is there even a point to it? No, who cares if you can’t even see it.”

Flicking a finger against the brim of his hat, he winked.

“Only thing fancy here is my hat. And probably the green suit I’m wearing.”

“Green? But you like blue and grey more.”

He snickered, nodded to Floyd’s question.

“I do, and I like green too, but this one’s more turquoise and it reminded me of your hair. SO, I decided to wear it.”

The other was glad of the darkness, which hid the rusty blush on his cheeks as Sumi explained.

“Anyway, let’s go let’s go let’s go!! I want to see the snow!”

Whooping, Sumi started walking, going the wrong way as his directions blurred from the dark. With a soft laugh, Floyd grabbed his hand and pulled him the other way. By now, the two had gotten used to the feeling of their hands held together, intertwining fingers naturally and on instinct.

“Wrong way Crab-chan~ Come with me.”

“Of course, lead me where you will my knight~”

Sumi purred in response, half-skipping as he bounced along beside the eel. They arrived at the mirror quite quickly, hidden by the dark cloak of the shadowy night, without meeting anyone else wandering the halls. Putting a hand onto the glass, Floyd commanded.

“Take us to the College courtyard.”

Within flashes of white, they were there. 

Snow covered it all. It hung from the roofs in icicles, it blanketed the ground like a thick duvet, it painted each of the statues of the legendary figures white. Silver floated down from the sky, softly drifting down in slivers of cold. Breezes blew through the air, sparkling flakes twinkled as they were whisked by the wind. The ice nipped at Sumi’s nose and he pushed his scarf over his mouth to cover it, muffling his voice.

“Woah.”

Floyd sniggered, swinging their hands as he started to walk.

"Follow me~ There's more."

As they walked, he asked Sumi, who was gazing at everything in wonder.

"Never seen snow before?"

The other shook his head.

"I have but not often. There isn't snow in the sea is there? And I haven't been to the surface much, normally winter's too cold for me."

"Ah~ Frozen fish sticks~"

Sumi laughed, elbowing his stomach.

"Shut up! What about you? Do you ever see snow often?"

Floyd smiles, thinking back a little.

"I can remember a few times, playing with Jade in the snow was fun."

"Ooh! We should do that too!"

Picking up a handful of snow, Sumi aimed a snowball at his face before stopping.

"Wait fuck I don't want to ruin your hair."

Swiftly stealing his hat, Floyd laughed, taking the snowball from his hand and dumping it onto Sumi's head.

"Dork~ why do you care about my hair?"

"Hey gorgeous things should be preserved."

He swatted at his hair, trying to get all the snow out before reaching up.

"Yo you have something on your face, come here."

A little confused, he did so, leaning down to the other. With a grin, the snake plunged his hands into his hair, aiming to mess it up. Floyd gasped and then whined as he let go, frowning to himself.

"Crab-channnn! Jade even did it up all nice for me!"

"Aww damn that hardly did anything, i just got gel on my hands. It looks nice but I prefer the wild look on you. You know, like normal."

"Oh."

He took a moment, the words sinking in, and smiled to himself softly. 

"You like how I always look?"

"Always have dude, wouldn't change you for the world."

Sumi wiped the gel off of his hands and onto his coat.

"Anyway, where are we going?"

"Oh motherfucker, how'd you know I love these?"

Sumi gasped as he stared at the maze, all hedges cut into neat rows of green and coated a mystical white. Floyd laughed and poked his head.

"I know you really well after all."

They were at the entrance, bordered by bushes of flowers tipped with snow. Still holding the sapphire rose, Floyd lifted Sumi's hand and placed it in his, keeping his fingers off the thorns. The other stared down at it.

"This… is my favourite rose."

"It reminds me of your eyes. Just as beautiful as them."

Raising an eyebrow, he looked up at him.

"Why'd you get me a rose?"

"A good luck charm~ Come find me Crab-chan!"

With that, he pulled Sumi's hat over his eyes and pushed him to the floor before running into the maze.

Shoved to the floor, Sumi landed on cold snow and felt the ice seep through his coat. It wasn't wet at least but it was Cold. Hissing, he stood up quickly and wiped it off, fixing his hat before looking up to glare at Floyd. But he wasn't there.

"Oh you mother _ fucker. _ " 

Grunting as he swatted the snow off of his hat, he sighed and then entered the maze. With a laugh, he looked down at the floor and saw Floyd's footprints big and bright in the snow. This was going to be laughably easy. Following them, he looked up occasionally and saw the frosted frigid leaves on each hedge, tainted a sea green white like the froth on the shore of the seaside. They formed halls and passageways, twisting and turning every which way in an attempt to mislead a lost little lamb. The footprints took turns and walked in seemingly every direction, often crossing itself to try and blur the marks. He was able to decipher them at least, snickering quietly to himself. A couple times, he heard Floyd laugh and then felt like an alerted enemy from a video game with how sharply he looked up. It was as tough finding him here as it was in the castle, he even looked upwards this time! Sighing as he found the middle, where a great big tree stood, he paused for breath and looked up at its branches. The tree bore cherry blossoms in the spring but right now, all its boughs held were flakes and dripping icicles of snow. Turning around, he surveyed the maze and looked down again, seeing how small his footsteps seemed next to Floyd's. Sumi took a step back to see it more clearly and then felt his back bump into something and someone lean over him.

With a dirty smirk on his face, no doubt.

Floyd sniggered as Sumi looked up at him, patting his head as he did so.

"Well well~ looks like you found me~"

"...Is it me or is it wayyy too often that you're always behind me?"

"Better me than you, I'd hardly notice you're there and run you over!"

Sumi laughed.

"Aww come on~ I'm not that small! Anyway, why're we here?"

Floyd's voice quietened, a little nervous as he spoke.

"I have something I want… to tell you."

Raising an eyebrow, the other smiled.

"Sure, I'm willing to hear you out."

"No this… this is important."

He flashed a curious look as he turned around to face him, breath catching as he saw the snow float softly down, flake hanging onto Floyd's marine hair. The white melted and sparkled like a glaze over his head, his golden and olive eyes shining brightly as he smiled. It was softer than his normal grin and the hand that stroked his hair had a more tender touch to it. His heart beat louder and louder in his head, thumping to the same drum as Floyd's. The other looked down at Sumi, watching his wide crystal eyes twinkle with excitement and the gentle snow waft across his deep blue hair, breezily melding into the dark. His smile shifted, wider and more dreamy as he lifted his chin from the scarf. Heartbeats passed as they gazed at each other, alone in a swirling sea of snowflakes and with only the warmth of each other against the cold.

The moon shone down on both of them, glistening light beaming down like a spotlight. Quiet whispers of wind flowed around them and the college was silent and empty, save for their two souls. A couple pink petals, survivors of the frosty apocalypse of winter, twirled around in a dance, intertwining in a waltz as they were wispily blown between the two. Leaning down, Floyd took the moment to whisper as he kissed Sumi's forehead.

"I think... I love you Sumi."

Sumi gasped, his cheeks reddening instantly as he felt the kiss. Soon, a quick smirk slid onto his face and he unwrapped his scarf, looping it over Floyd's neck. The other didn't have time to react, cheeks burning as he met his smile.

"Coward. Kiss me properly if you're gonna do that."

Yanking down, the scarf, he whispered sweetly before their lips met.

"I love you too, Floyd."

**Author's Note:**

> First of all we will Pretend there is a maze at NRC outside of the rose maze in Heartslabyul bc I made it up for plot but shhh.  
> Second this was scary for me to post but if you've come to the end, thank you!! please leave a comment or kudo just so I know, i don't mind if you don't but even just two words will let me know I'm not a disaster haha.  
> Third uhhh hope you liked it! Sumi Kraitan will be the first of at least 4 sonas I'll have. The others will be an MC sona, one for Savannaclaw and one for Scarabia so if I ever get round to making them, note I'll be marking the mermaid with Sumi K ;3  
> Fourth oh lord i can't even believe I wrote all this in 8 days, Floyd wasn't even meant to be my biggest simp xDD


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